


Ezra's Return

by WalterWalter



Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:41:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 113,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25787506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WalterWalter/pseuds/WalterWalter
Summary: Ezra Bridger is rescued by the rebellion from the unknown regions following Luke Skywalker's fall to the Dark during his duel with Darth Vader on Bespin.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger/Sabine Wren, Leia Organa & Han Solo, Leia Organa/Han Solo
Comments: 104
Kudos: 181





	1. Departure

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Italics with single quotation marks represent memories, written information, or recorded dialogue. Ex: _‘I must admit, the mysteries of the Force are an enigma to me.’_ Is a memory when Thrawn is in the arms of the Purgill.  
> Italics with full quotations represent current thoughts. Ex: _“Was this the right path?”_ Is an internal dialogue for Ezra.  
> Text inside <> will indicate Mando'a  
> Text inside {} will indicate binary  
> other languages used will be indicated in the chapter notes with their own type of bracketing

“Whatever happens next happens to both of us.” Thrawn stated coolly, masking his uncertainty.

The situation he now found himself in should not be possible. Seemingly out of nowhere these creatures. The ‘Purrgil.’ Appeared in the Lothal system and tore through the imperial fleet blockading the backwater planet. Thrawn’s own words came back to him as he glanced out the Transparisteel viewport. _‘I must admit, the mysteries of the Force are an enigma to me.’ “maybe I was wrong when I assumed this young Jedi lacked the vision on how to use the force.”_ More of that conversation echoed in his head _‘Who deserves what is irrelevant. What matters is who has power.’_ Thrawn knew his statement was completely correct, but he never accounted for the slim possibility where the Rebels held the power. 

“That’s the idea.” Ezra responded smugly, taking Thrawn from his thoughts long enough for him to notice the sound of shattering Transparisteel.  
Ezra watched as the tentacles whipped around the bridge of the Chimaera tossing stormtroopers around like they were weightless. He focused on the fruitless efforts of the troopers long enough to see the Grand Admiral start to run towards him, Ezra immediately called upon the Force to push him back into the waiting arms of the Purrgil.  
As Thrawn started getting constrained by the creatures his mind went back to the ambush of the Rebels at their Atollon base. The confusing result of that battle decided by a seemingly sentient storm that struck down Rebels and Imperials alike. He saw the storm dissolve in his mind and remembered the creature’s prophecy. _‘I see your defeat. Like many arms surrounding you in a cold embrace.’_

Thrawn was jarred from his thoughts when the Mandalorian’s voice came over Ezra’s communicator. “Ezra? Ezra, can you hear me? The Purrgil, is it you?”

“Yeah! Pretty good, huh?” 

“Well, you could’ve told the rest of us.”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Just then Thrawn’s men attempted to take back the bridge, but they were quickly dispatched by Ezra using a blaster he took from a stormtrooper. Thrawn used this distraction as a final effort to escape his prophesied defeat, as quickly as he could Thrawn got out of the grasp of the creatures and fired on Ezra, striking him in the shoulder. However, his attempt failed as Ezra spun around, used the Force to disarm Thrawn and pushed him against the front of the bridge, once again wrapping him in the grip of the Purrgil. Ezra turned and used the Force again, this time sealing the bridge to prevent another group of stormtroopers from trying to stop him. 

The rest of Thrawn’s world was muffled as he felt the ship rock with more Purrgil latching onto the hull of his ship. He watched in disbelief as the creature’s tentacles started to pulse blue light. Thrawn came back into focus as he heard Sabine Wren shouting over the communicator “Ezra, please! Get out of there!”

“I can’t do that.” Ezra replied with serene conviction in his voice as he raised his hand calling upon the Force once again. Thrawn twisted his body to see what Bridger was doing. “It’s up to all of you now.” He continued saying as the Purrgil began to disappear one by one, it was only then Thrawn noticed the completely clear skies, knowing what was coming next Thrawn braced himself for the cold vacuum of space. “And remember, the Force will be with you, always.”

The cold miserable death Thrawn was expecting never came. He opened his eyes and stared at the swirling blues and whites of hyperspace, after he regained his composure, he did all he could to turn around and face Ezra. He was in disbelief that the boy was keeping the air inside the bridge, he opened his mouth to inquire, but thought it better to not break Ezra’s concentration unless he had a way to ensure his own survival.

After a few minutes Ezra began to feel weak, the heaviness of his arms, and the throbbing of his shoulder was not helping his focus. Ezra opened his blue eyes to see the red ones of Thrawn looking back at him. Ezra knew he would not be able to hold everything together for very long. He thought about his own decisions, _“Was this the right path? Could I have stayed with my family? Stayed with Sabine?”_ Doubt began creeping into his mind and he could feel his hold on the air and door slipping further. Thrawn must have noticed him faltering because before Ezra could try and figure out how to survive this Thrawn had already figured it out.

“The Panel beneath the door controls!” Thrawn yelled. Ezra could almost hear what sounded like fear creeping into Thrawn’s voice and was smirking mentally at this unlikely miniature victory. 

Ezra moved towards the panel as carefully as he could, trying to avoid breaking his own concentration. As he reached the panel Thrawn called out to him “The Glowing green one on the left.”

Pressing the button Ezra noticed the same blue energy shielding from the hangers appear in the now destroyed viewports. Using the hand that he was containing the bridge’s atmosphere he picked up an E-11D with the Force. “Well he’s not going to be needing it.” He muttered to himself looking at the Death Trooper lying on the ground with a hole burned into his chest. For the first time in his life Ezra thought it would be better to use the locking control rather than just shooting the control panel. _“I’ll need it working to escape.”_ He thought, remembering what he did with his lightsaber. 

Staring at the door controls muttering “Karabast!” not knowing how the controls worked unless he was using a blaster bolt. He turned to look at Thrawn who was watching him intently with what looked like the slightest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“What?” Ezra asked pointedly already annoyed with Thrawn’s surprisingly smug look.

“Oh, I’m just imagining that you have never actually touched one of those. You just blast them.” Thrawn replied with the barest hint of amused superiority in his tone.  
“Yeah well usually there’s about fifty of your bucketheads right behind me. Never really had the chance to stop and look.” Ezra bit back

“Well you could always just… ask.” Thrawn replied in his emotionless way. 

“And why in all the galaxy would I trust you?”

“I have no reason to lie to you, Bridger. Why would I?”

“Really? Do you think I’m that stupid? If I seal this door off then you’re trapped in here with me, if I open it your troopers will just blast me and free you.”

Unfazed and betraying none of his emotions Thrawn evenly replied “You had the chance to kill me, but you chose not to. I’m merely returning the courtesy.” 

Ezra was silent, he stood back still using the Force to hold the door shut and considered Thrawn’s words. He looked back up to Thrawn and tried to get a read on his intentions through the Force. But somehow Thrawn gave away nothing.

Seeing the Padawan’s indecision on his face Thrawn decided to tell him anyways “It is the black square underneath the glowing orange button.”

Ezra pushed harder with the Force and sensed no malice coming from Thrawn and decided to try his luck. As he moved his hand over to the button, he raised his blaster at the door making ready for the flood of stormtroopers. Unexpectedly though, Thrawn had told him the truth. The blast doors made a clicking noise as an automated voice chimed out “Executive lockdown: Enabled.” 

“I had no reason to lie to you Bridger.” 

Ezra started chuckling at him “Uh… yeah you really did. If that opened the door instead of sealing it, I would be dead... So why didn’t you lie?”  
“Like I said before, the mysteries of the Force are an enigma to me. I have no idea how any of this happened or how much control you have over these creatures.” Thrawn replied in his usual emotionless tone.

Ezra started to open his mouth to respond but shut it before he told Thrawn that he would have lost control of the creatures immediately if he was stunned or killed. Instead he moved back to the center of the bridge and used the Force to clear the shattered Transparisteel. Ezra kneeled, setting the blaster down as he lowered himself and started to meditate. But he was interrupted by Thrawn before he could even shut his eyes.

“What are you doing, Bridger?” Thrawn asked with the slightest hint of curiosity in his voice.  
“Meditating.” He replied simply and evenly.

“Meditation is important to the Jedi is it not? In the art recovered from the Jedi temple on Coruscant, meditation is often featured. However, it is difficult to interpret the meaning from such vague depictions.”

“Yep. Vague is a pretty good way to describe the Jedi.” He said back annoyed at another interruption.

“Yes. But why-”

“Can you stop talking now?” Ezra interrupted not attempting to hide his disdain for Thrawn and his pointless droning about art.

Thrawn considered appeasing Ezra for a moment but decided that he could use this as a test of Bridger’s temperament. He waited until Ezra finally looked relaxed before he started talking again.

“Your meditation can not help your situation in any way. You must know that.”

Ezra chose to stay silent and continued to slip into his meditation exercises.

“Why do you continue this pointless endeavor if you understand that you will not gain anything.” 

Again, Ezra said nothing, and kept his emotions from showing on the surface. Thrawn knew he had to push harder to get a reaction out of him. He considered everything he knew about Ezra Bridger. His two families seemed to be the easiest route to provoke a reaction, but the deaths of his Jedi master and his parents stuck out in his mind, along with his obvious attraction to the Mandalorian which even Agent Kallus could see at the start of his hunt for them. Before Thrawn spoke however he though back to Jedi teachings, how anger is a path to the ‘Dark side of the Force.’ Thrawn knew he needed to push slowly as teenagers were not known for their even temperament, and the stress Bridger was under was greater than that of a normal boy his age. 

Just as Ezra was slipping into a meditative trance Thrawn spoke again. “I really cannot understand what you hope to gain from this exercise.”

“…”

“It will not change the past; it will not help you in the future.” Thrawn continued slowly working his way up to the more tragic events of the boy’s life.

“…”

“No matter how much meditation you commit yourself to, it won’t help those who were in your life… like your parents.”

“…” Ezra knew what Thrawn was trying to do, he was playing mind games with him, trying to get him to snap. Ezra would not allow him to win.

“Yes, that reminds me of a Jedi proverb: ‘Old sins cast long shadows’ very wise words.” Thrawn paused to study for any change in the boy. Seeing none he continued “I guess I can see that in yourself, your decision to broadcast that little message of ‘hope’ ultimately got your parents killed. You inspired the escape attempt that they died in, and you rightfully see your role in their deaths.” 

“…” Ezra was trying to ignore Thrawn, but he was working his way into his head.

“I believe that message you sent out was an impulsive decision. You have a record of rash decisions that endangered your crew. However, I believe it was your indecisiveness that got you master killed.” 

“…” Ezra was having a harder time trying to release his emotions into the Force as his anger built up.

“I saw the security hologram of his death. He gave his life for yours, why he did that... I do not know. But I am sure that he would be disappointed in you.” Thrawn noticed the scowl slowly creeping its way onto Ezra’s face, and saw him start to tense up, he knew he was getting closer and just needed to push a little further. 

“No amount of meditation is going to fix your poor choices and attributes.”

“…” Ezra’s scowl deepened, and he could see the E-11D through the force. _“NO!”_ he thought to himself resisting the temptation to kill Thrawn and be done with it. 

Ezra however, felt a familiar presence and finally slipped into his meditative trance. He surprised Thrawn with his even temperament and his fortitude. Realizing that not many people could focus that much with a fresh blaster wound.

But the day’s events had started wearing on Thrawn too. As his adrenalin high diminished, he felt his eyelids becoming heavier by the second, but his position in the tentacles had grown surprisingly comfortable in the past few minutes. Thrawn couldn’t stop exhaustion from getting the better of him and he slowly drifted to sleep.

Ezra came out of his trance when he noticed Thrawn stopped talking and looked at his unconscious body slumped over in the grip of the Purrgil. _“Finally, some peace and quiet”_ Ezra thought as he started focusing on his meditation again. This time he found his center much easier and slipped into his meditative trance quickly, he soon felt a call in the force growing nearer each minute and guessed he would arrive at its origin in a few hours. Knowing this Ezra focused on releasing his physical and mental pain and gave himself a way to pass the time much quicker.


	2. Chapter 2

“Listen,” Hera said as she flew the Ghost over the cheering citizens of Lothal

As their ship flew over the crowded city streets they watched as the residents of Capital City tear down the barricades and banners set up by the occupying imperials. Seeing a celebration like this for the first time was incredible for everyone, but for Sabine it was just as sorrowful as it was joyous. Kanan Jarrus, the man she viewed as a second father will never get to see the result of his sacrifice. And Ezra Bridger, the best friend she ever had is gone, after dedicating four years of their lives to this planet neither one of the most important members of the crew got to see what they fought for. Sabine knew however one day Ezra would get to see his home again. She didn’t know how but she was positive he was still alive, and they would meet again, and she looked forward to that day already. 

“Looks like the people are with you, General Syndulla,” Kallus said as Sabine finished her brief reflecting. 

“Then if the Empire wants a fight, we’ll be ready for them.” Hera replied making her last pass over the celebrating city and towards the old communications tower that Ezra called home. 

When the Ghost touched down on the windswept plains everyone slowly filtered out of the cabin, leaving just Sabine and Hera looking out over the grass. Sabine stared out the Transparisteel cockpit, past the communications tower, over the prairie, and took in the sight of the city. It already looked much better with the hideous dome gone and she was excited to watch its revival. She hasn’t told anyone yet but she won’t be making the trip back to Yavin IV with them, she needed to stay here and make sure Kanan and Ezra’s sacrifices weren’t in vain, but she didn’t know how to tell the crew, _especially_ Hera. Sabine would be the third family member Hera lost in the span of a few weeks.  
Hera must have seen the look on Sabine’s face because after a few minutes of Sabine considering how she was going to tell her the Twi’lek broke the silence “you’re not coming with us, are you?” Hera asked, unable to hide her sorrow.

Sabine wanted to tell Hera how she was sorry, but she needed to do this. She wanted to tell her that they all sacrificed too much to allow Lothal to fall to the Empire again. She wanted to tell her second mother that she could not let Kanan and Ezra’s sacrifice be for nothing. But when she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. All she could do was shake her head and hold back her tears as the events of the last few weeks all caught up with her at once.

Hera watched her as she searched for the right words but couldn’t find them, so she grabbed Sabine and held her as close as she could and told her in a shaky voice “I understand,” with a slight smile.

“I’m sorry,” was all Sabine could say as she wrapped her arms around Hera.

“Don’t be. You’re doing the right thing Sabine.”

With that Hera stood up taking Sabine into the ship with her. They wordlessly walked through the hallways and compartments on the ship reliving what were once happy memories as they made their way back to the cabins. Hera stopped at the beginning of the hallway and knocked on the cabin that now just belonged to Zeb. “Zeb, could you pack Ezra’s things please?” Hera shouted and turned away, not waiting for a response. 

A sad muffled “Yeah” was all she got back followed by the sound of shuffling feet.

Hera opened the door to Sabine’s cabin with a sad smile and led her inside. “Huh. Guess I’ve got a lot more stuff than I thought,” she said with forced humor as she looked around the small room. 

Hera gave a sad smile and embraced Sabine one more time before heading back to the cockpit. When she was finally alone Sabine leaned into her now locked door and slid to the ground bringing her knees to her chest while she sat. As she looked through her room, she was reminded of Kanan and specifically Ezra. Her second father was featured heavily in all her artwork, but her most treasured memories on the Ghost involved her best friend. Almost everything in her cabin could be related to Ezra in some way, each memory more painful than the last. But what finally broke her was a half-painted Death Trooper helmet that Chopper managed to grab on their last mission together before coming to Lothal. The helmet was intended to be a surprise to make his usually miserable birthday into a happy event turned something she couldn’t stand to look at. She was frozen staring at it, stuck on what could have been and before she knew it a choked off sob escaped her, and for the first time since her training with the Darksaber she nearly allowed herself to cry.

When she managed to get up some time later, she started to make her way through her room to grab all the most important items and stumbled across a datapad lying next to Ezra’s lightsaber on her bed. Sabine quickly snapped the lightsaber to her utility belt and placed the datapad into her bag. She gathered the helmet, all her painting supplies, half-finished art projects, and explosives, then she made her way out to the common area of the Ghost to say her goodbyes. Sabine arrived in the common area to see Hera, Zeb, Chopper, Kallus, Rex, Wolffe, and… Hondo? 

Sabine started to talk before she was interrupted by Zeb’s usually gruff but now soft voice “Hera already told us Sabine; you don’t need to explain.” 

A soft “Thank you,” was all she could get out as she was gathered into a hug by Zeb and Hera, with Chopper being surprisingly sympathetic (well, as sympathetic as an evil astromech could be) and trying to comfort her by rubbing one of his manipulators on her leg. When they released her after long embrace, she moved down the line to Kallus.

“So… I guess this is goodbye then, Kallus.”

“For now, at least, Sabine. He would be happy to see what you are doing… they both would. If you ever need anything, we are only a call and a jump away. Don’t forget that,” Kallus replied in his crisp imperial accent. Before Sabine nodded in thanks and moved down the line to Rex and Wolffe. 

“I’m going to miss having our favorite Mandalorian on hand when something needs to be blown up,” Rex said with a chuckle before continuing “And for what it’s worth, you are doing what’s right, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise,” he finished. Sabine remembered that he knew her mother from fighting during the Siege of Mandalore and was certain her was referring to her when he said ‘anybody.’

Sabine smiled back at Rex before Wolffe awkwardly cut in “I know I only met with all of you, uh twice… and um, tried to sell you to the Empire the first time… sorry about that… again,” he said looking down and rubbing the back of his neck. “But I can say that they were two of the best Jedi I have ever had the privilege to fight besides, they would’ve been great generals in our day,” Rex nodded afterwards to confirm Wolffe’s awkward but heartfelt statement. 

Sabine knew these two experienced commanders fought with the likes of Anakin Skywalker and the most legendary Jedi generals of the era. That made her look up at Wolffe and faintly smile in appreciation, making him awkwardly avoid her gaze again.

_“Now to see what the kriff Hondo wants.”_ Sabine thought as she walked to up to him. _“For some reason Ezra liked this sleemo, he’d want me to at least listen to him.”_

When Sabine stopped and looked at Hondo, he seemed surprised that she decided to interact with him. Everyone in the crew knew of Hondo’s usual antics and were not expecting anything more than a shifty business proposition, _“Maybe this Nerfherder thinks I’ll let him use Lothal as a base,”_ Sabine considered, racking her brain trying to figure out what else he could possibly be thinking. The rest of the crew stared expectantly at the old pirate waiting for a poorly thought out scheme to be rejected instantly by the short tempered Mandalorian standing in front of him, but Hondo was uncharacteristically silent and by the expression on his face Sabine could see he was obviously thinking hard about… whatever he was thinking about. To the surprise of everyone in the room Hondo, for the first time, said something that wasn’t based on profit. He finally pulled his foot out of his mouth, took his hat off, and adopted a solemn look. 

“Mando girl, in my line of work good people are nearly impossible to come by, but young Ezra will always be the greatest Jedi I have ever known. That boy deserves to see his home and family again, if you ever need help from old Hondo, for whatever reason, I will help… if I can,” Hondo solemnly promised holding his hat to his chest.  
To say the crew was surprised would be an understatement. Hondo was almost always a long winded, selfish, and scheming swindler, but his offer had been the most direct, honest statement they had ever heard from him. Sabine was almost happy that she took the time to acknowledge him, learning that Ezra had one yet another true friend in this cold, unforgiving galaxy. She smiled in resigned gratitude at Hondo and climbed down the ladder and carried her most important possessions through the tall, swaying grass to Ezra’s tower. 

Sabine opened the door to the tower and climbed up the ridiculously tall and dusty ladder into Ezra’s ‘apartment’ with all her possessions hanging on her back. _“I need to fix that stupid elevator.”_ Walking into the room where Ezra spent almost eight years of his life, she was immediately floored as she really took in the decrepit state of the interior, she had been inside before but only passed through to get to the balcony and never really looked around. _“This all needs to be fixed too.”_ How any person could live like this was beyond her understanding, she put down her possessions next to where Zeb placed Ezra’s things from the Ghost and made a detailed inspection of each individual room. _“No furniture… Great. Is that pile of blankets his old bed or his dirty laundry? Probably both. No running water, typical. Food wrappers and ration packs scattered around… huh. he really was a Loth-rat”_ she thought fondly finishing up her impromptu house tour. _“I really have my work cut out for me, I’m not sure of this is going to be better or worse than the rest of this planet.”_

Outside the tower, the remaining rebels loaded themselves onto the ghost and took off, plotting a course for Yavin IV. Sabine waved at the ship as it took off and left the atmosphere then turned her attention to the Capital City skyline in the distance. 

“You really gave me the hardest job in the galaxy, Ezra.” She mumbled to herself but silently vowing to stay. He was counting on her after all.

On board the _Devastator_ Darth Vader received a message indicating the loss of communications with Imperial forces on Lothal. 

He made for the holo table in the back section of his command center “Clear the bridge,” he ordered the few men occupying the area before they walked off to the front and closed the door, giving Vader his privacy. Vader kneeled as the hologram of his master crackled to life in front of him. “What is it my apprentice?” Palpatine spat at him seemingly annoyed already. 

“Communications with the Seventh Fleet, and the Lothal garrison have been severed. The surviving rebels may have made a desperate attack, shall I go and crush this pathetic uprising?” Vader replied coolly, not wishing to incur his master’s wrath.

“No.” Palpatine said back, his demeanor shifting to one of amusement. “Soon project Stardust will be finished, and with it the rebellion. With the Jedi temple destroyed that planet is no longer of use to me… it should make a fine example to anyone thinking of disobeying the Empire,” He cackled out “It will be added to Tarkin’s list,” he finished before abruptly disconnecting from Vader’s call. 

Vader rose from his kneeling position and returned to the viewports of his bridge. He mentally scratched Bridger off his long list of his high value targets, and short list of potential apprentices. Staring out at the dark expanse before him, he was brooding, trying to find a new potential apprentice strong enough to help him defeat his own master.  
“Set course for Mustafar,” he grumbled out to his navigator

He watched the space before him turn into the swirl of hyperspace before turning on his heel and marching back to his meditation chamber.


	3. Chapter 3

The _Chimaera_ was soon upon the now screaming call Ezra was getting through the Force, and it seemed the Purrgil could sense it too. When they were right on top of the location the Purrgil abruptly dropped the ship out of hyperspace, and the inertial dampeners did nothing to control the jarring deceleration of the destroyer. Ezra fell forward and opened his eyes to a now awake Thrawn who was trying to squirm out of the Purrgil’s grasp again. It was only now that Ezra realized the ship was running on emergency power and knew that this was his chance for escape. 

Ezra used the Force to open the door to the rear section of the bridge and found the squadron of stormtroopers that was waiting for him already thrown into the wall and knocked unconscious. As he stepped through the door, he heard a familiar whining from something on the ground next to him. _“it almost sounds like a song.”_ He thought as he picked through the unconscious troopers and shattered transparisteel. “How did he even get this?!” he asked the unconscious men incredulously, knowing he wouldn’t get an answer as he picked up his master’s lightsaber and ran off the bridge.

Ezra felt the ship lurch forward again as he rounded the last corner and sprinted down the monotonous gray hallway leading to the escape pods. _“Why are they already moving?”_ Ezra thought as he climbed into the small vessel that he was going to use to track down this mysterious call in the Force. He jumped into the pilot’s seat and let the Force guide his hands to the appropriate buttons. As he launched the pod, he could see a familiar looking blue-green gas cloud that the Purrgil were all heading towards, then he refocused his attention on the ever-growing call in the Force. As he piloted the small craft through the clouds of Clouzon-36 he guided himself to a midsized planet. The onboard sensors revealed a breathable atmosphere, low background radiation, and varying terrains and climates everywhere on the planet’s surface. He continued steering towards the call and determined it to be at the base of a range of snow topped blueish gray mountains.

He got closer and the short-range sensors on the pod picked up the signature of an old republic attack frigate from the clone wars. The databanks on the pod identified it as a Consular Cruiser with an unfamiliar experimental retrofit. Disconcertingly the pod could not detect any intelligent life signs near the ship. Ezra leveled out the pod to make his landing but put too much stress on the maneuvering flaps. The pod shook and an engine blew out at he got closer, he knew he was dropping too fast and all he could do was strap in before everything went black.

“Report,” Thrawn ordered any of the now conscious members of his bridge crew with his hands folded behind his back.  
“Sir, main power is down. Life support and emergency systems are in working order. We have been unable to raise any of our other ships, but they are believed to be in the same situation,” a junior lieutenant replied from the pit. 

“And what of our… escort?” Thrawn asked, his attention drawn from the Purrgil to the lieutenant whose performance he found admirable given the current situation.   
“The creatures seem to be feeding on the gas in the nebula which the computer has identified as Clouzon-36,” he replied looking back at a console before confirming it the Thrawn. 

“Options?”

“With our main-power down we have no way to fire our batteries. And if we did there is a risk of a malfunction detonating the Clouzon,” he said looking back up to Thrawn, the panic in his eyes evident but his face and tone remained calm and even.

“Thank you, lieutenant,” Thrawn replied emotionlessly while simultaneously being proud of the effectiveness of his hand-picked crew.

Slowly making their way out of the cloud some hours later Thrawn was able to see what remained of his blockade being released by the Purrgil before the creatures jumped to hyperspace. Unfortunately, many of his ships did not survive the journey as they broke apart unceremoniously during the sudden hyperspace travel.

“Main power has been restored. Shields, weapons, short range communications, navigation, and scanners are online. Shall we fire upon these lumbering menaces?” A now conscious Commodore Faro said to Thrawn, ready to give the order.

“That will not be necessary, Commodore. Open up the reference charts to have our location marked, get a count on all ships in the area, send for a repair crew for the viewports, and see which ships are able to make contact.”

“At once, Grand Admiral,” she replied bowing her head and returning to the various stations around the bridge to relay his orders.

Thrawn watched the last of the Purrgil jump to hyperspace leaving the remains of his fleet floating aimlessly in space. 

As Faro went to the various stations to check progress Thrawn was in deep thought, considering if chasing Bridger would be worth the resources and men. While he was still an enemy of the Empire and Thrawn’s mission was to eliminate him, Thrawn was not sure if they were even in Imperial space. If they were he knew he would have to send a search party to recapture him as soon as reinforcements arrived, but if they were not in Imperial space then the survival of him and his fleet took precedence over a hunt for a dangerously trained child now armed with a lightsaber. He considered the possibility of this working to the benefit of his own people, if Bridger could be recruited then he would be a very powerful ally. 

Thrawn was called out of his thoughts when Commodore Faro walked up to him and said, “Grand Admiral, the navigator could find no charts that would discern our location in the Imperial database.” 

“What of the fleet, Commodore?” Thrawn inquired, while stepping over the remains of his bridge guards and shattered viewports to get a good look at what remained of the Seventh Fleet.

“The scanners are functioning at a limited capacity, but they do indicate the presence of seven of our ten destroyers, none of which are fully functioning. Two of those have since broken apart and the crews are believed to be lost. Based on the scans we believe that two of the remaining destroyers are too far gone to be repaired but can be used to repair the Chimaera and the other remaining destroyers. Out of our twelve light cruisers, eight made it through the hyperspace journey, none of which have broken apart since our arrival in this system, six of the eight look like they may be worth repairing but the other two would be best used as spare parts. The blockade support vessels are just… gone. And our Construction modules were brought with us, but the crews appear to be evacuating to the remaining ships. Since they were not made for hyperspace travel, we believe them to be unstable and should disregard them.” 

“Have you been able to raise our other ships?”

“With some success. The Harbinger was able to return our call with limited comm functionality, and Captain Pellaeon appears to be unharmed. The Imperium has returned our call and has taken on the crews of the construction modules. The cruisers have all reported in using short range communications, and their long-range communicators appear to be heavily damaged by the way the creatures gripped them. Also, the repair crew is on their way to the bridge as we speak.”

“Excellent work, Commodore. Commander Hammerly, oversee the repair crews and get our fleet in order,” Thrawn said before using a more hushed tone “Commodore, follow me.”

When Ezra woke up the sun was setting over the mountains cooling off the short-grassed plains that he crashed his escape pod in. He unstrapped himself and managed grab the Medpac and clamber out of the heavily damaged escape pod without hurting himself any more than he already has, he slumped down against the side of the pod as he tried to ignore the intense throbbing in his shoulder from where Thrawn shot him. _“Thrawn... I know it’s bad to think this, but I hope the Purrgils dropped him and his lackeys into the sun.”_ Reigning in his anger Ezra opened the Medpac and grabbed the medical scanner and painfully waved it over his body a few times letting it gather the necessary data.   
Ezra waited for the results to pop up on the screen before groaning at the extensive list of damage. ‘Blaster wound (left Shoulder)’ _“I know that already,”_ ‘extensive bruising along the torso and upper legs’ _“Well the damage from the straps is better than the alternative”_ He thought before continuing. ‘three bruised ribs, hairline fracture (right kneecap), mild concussion.’ Ezra cringed at the last diagnosis knowing know that the involuntary nap he just had was definitely risky. ‘recommended treatment actions: irrigation bulb application to blaster wound followed by coagulants and a Bacta patch. Bone stabilizer application to kneecap injury to promote proper healing. Head pain targeting anti-inflammatories recommended for concussion pain, treatment is rest and restricting all activities.’ “Well that last part isn’t gonna happen,” Ezra mumbled as he followed the other advice from the Medpac and looked on at the crashed cruiser that his scanner picked up on his descent. 

Ezra climbed back into the pod and grabbed rations, a water filter, a survival shelter, glowrods, and a breath mask. Silently stuffing them all into a bag and picking up the E-11D and Kanan’s lightsaber before climbing back out and limping towards the other wreck with the Medpac in his hand. 

By the time he covered the kilometer and a half of open plains between the escape pod and the cruiser, the sun had been completely obscured by the mountains, leaving the moons as his only source of light unless he wanted to use the glowrods. He tentatively approached the wreck feeling out with the force in case the pod’s scanners were wrong about the lifeform readings. He did not feel any sentient life, but he could hear the song of Kyber crystals and the call of the Force emanating from inside the ship. He walked along the side of the ship until he came to an airlock between the main compartment and the engines. Using the force to open the airlock he stepped inside and cracked a glowrod to illuminate the long-abandoned space, as he exited the airlock into a long corridor connecting to the engines of the ship to the rest of it he turned left towards the main area. 

Whenever Rex told stories about his time on attack frigates, he seemed like he preferred them to the Venators he spent most of his time on, and now Ezra could see why. Activating the still working emergency power Ezra was greeted by a soft light sputtering a few times before illuminating the hallway and showing the way to various rooms in the main section of the seemingly comfortable ship. He made his way down the hall intent on exploring each room, the first room Ezra opened was a triangular one on the port side containing a medical droid and various surgical stations all pushed towards the front wall. “That’ll be useful,” he muttered happily as he backed out of the room and moved across the light gray hallway. This room was an extensive armory containing clone uniforms, body suits, weapons, ammunition, power cells, and phase II armor as well as what looked like lightsaber parts, robes, and the armor he’d seen in Master Skywalker’s recordings on Kanan’s holocron. To say he was interested at this point would be an understatement. The next two rooms on the starboard side were crew quarters, their non-descript gray walls and furniture obviously made for clones and contained nothing of note. On the port side however was one large room containing a single bed a lot of Jedi stuff and a few holocrons. This ship was getting weird, everything was immaculate for a crashed ship with no dust in sight and Ezra hadn’t found a single body. Ezra moved out of the last cabin and walked to the end of the hallway where he was greeted by two sets of stairs.  
Choosing to go up first Ezra walked down a long computer filled hallway until he reached a damaged door that would not open even with the power on. Summoning the Force, Ezra managed to open the door enough to see smashed consoles and two dead bodies which he assumed were clones at one point. Quickly closing the door Ezra made his way back down the hallway and down the other set of stairs. 

He opened the closed bulkhead and was greeted by a grizzly sight. All lying against the far wall were the bodies of clones and three Jedi. Unlike the clone pilots, these troopers were wearing phase II armor decorated in bright orange _“Good color choice,”_ on the pauldrons, elbows, and knees with vertical stripes bisecting the scattered helmets. Upon closer inspection he realized that some of these men hadn’t died in the crash. The bodies of some of the clones were covered in lightsaber slashes, and blaster bolts peppered the walls and penetrated the floor and hit the bridge computers, explaining the crash. The bodies of the Jedi were at the bottom of the corpse pile with the body of the clone commander directly on top of them. Using the Force to move the clones, Ezra found the Kyber crystals, lightsabers, and a holocron that was the source of the Force’s call.  
Grabbing the possessions of the Jedi, Ezra ran out of the shot up diplomatic pod, closing the bulkhead and moving back up the stairs. Thankful that the nice bedroom he found earlier wasn’t riddled with corpses, Ezra was happy he had a seemingly clean bed to sleep on. Before he went to bed however, he decided to get a more thorough checkup from the medical droid he found earlier.

Moving a table to the center of the room and turning on the examination lights in the room he was greeted by sharp pain from his forgotten headache as the bright lights temporarily blinded him, but he suffered through it long enough to turn on the medical droid.

The 2-1B droid’s eyes lit up as it exited the power recharge station.

“I need a full diagnostic run on me,” Ezra told the droid.

“I’m sorry, but you are not an authorized user. If you wish to utilize my services, you must contact CC-1584: Commander Wheeler. Or Jedi Mast-”

“Yeah they’re both dead,” Ezra interrupted the droids slow drawling already irritated.

“Stand by…” the droid replied looking up across the room to the mess of equipment.

As the droid stood for two minutes staring absently at the far wall Ezra got impatient and started waving his hands in front of the droid’s sensors. “Hello? HELLO? You want to do your job or are you just going to stare at the wall?” Ezra asked, his attitude getting worse from the throbbing in his head.

“…”

The lack of reply didn’t help Ezra’s mood “Great… It’s a kriffing dud,” he said hopelessly.

“My apologies, it appears that all authorized personnel are indeed deceased. Do you have any information o-”

“They’ve both been dead for almost 19 years I think,” Ezra interrupted the droid anticipating its question. 

“Very well,” the droid said in a seemingly resigned tone before continuing “With the previous masters deceased this unit may be utilized by any member of the Grand Army of the Republic or any members of the Jedi Order.”

“Uhhh, ok. My name’s Ezra Bridger. I’m a Jedi Padawan. Does that work for you?” he asked with more patience seeing he could get somewhere.

“Stand by…” the droid said in the usual monotone _“Oh great, more waiting for Doctor Monotony,”_ Ezra thought miserably as the droid continued staring.

“The name ‘Ezra Bridger’ does not appear in my database of Jedi Knights, Masters, or Padawans. What was your master’s name?” the droid asked trying to help as much as his programming would allow. 

“Kanan Jarrus.” Ezra replied “No wai-”

“Kanan Jarrus does not register either,” the droid stated interrupting Ezra before he had the chance to correct himself.

“Well he used to be called Caleb Dume, and his master was named Depa Billaba,” Ezra said back desperate that the droid would recognize one of them.

“The names you have provided are in my registry; however, Caleb Dume is listed as a Padawan learner in my databanks, not a Knight which is a prerequisite for taking on a Padawan of his own.”

_“What are you? A Jedi”_ “Yeah well you were offline for at least 19 years… So, I’m willing to bet that your registry is a little outdated,” Ezra pointed out somewhat rudely but eager to have found a way in.

“Your logic is sound, and acceptable to my programming. ‘Jedi, Ezra Bridger’ has been added to the list of authorized personnel.”

“Thank you. Now I hit my head or something in a crash… and I was shot, so I need you to do a full medical scan… and treat my injuries if you can,” Ezra said happily now that he could get rid of this headache.

“Affirmative; however, physical procedures are done best with an unconscious subject, although that is a fact that many organics seem to deny.”

“Fine by me as long as it helps my head.”

“Affirmative,” the 2-1B droid replied before sticking a needle in Ezra’s arm, putting him in a state of restful sleep rather quickly.

Thrawn led Commodore Faro through the familiar hallways to his office on the _Chimaera_ but when they entered, he was internally dismayed at the destruction brought about by the Purrgil. His art collection littered the floor, with the duracrete slab of retaining wall lying on the floor after taking out a portion of his desk. Thrawn sighed internally seeing some of his best trophies destroyed but kept his disappointment to himself as he gestured for the Commodore to take a seat.

She lowered herself into the chair unsure of what was to come, she’d heard the horror stories of Imperial high command punishing officers in excess for negligence of their duties. She was sure that Thrawn was going to demote her to a stormtrooper and send her with the squad to hunt the Jedi. But she was just confused when Thrawn pulled up a chart that identified their position on the holo.

“I thought the Navigator couldn’t find our position on our charts,” Faro said to Thrawn with surprise in her voice.

“You are correct, this area does not appear on Imperial maps.”

“Then how-”

“These charts are not imperial, Commodore. They come from my own people, the Chiss. As you can see the Jedi and his beasts have brought us deep into the unknown regions, through unknown hyperspace routes which may not be retraceable.”

“Well if we contact the sector command closest to us then we should be able to be saved,” she said with hope creeping into her tone.

“Unfortunately, we cannot,” Thrawn informed her with a fake remorse in his voice, he was secretly pleased Bridger had dragged him away from the Empire. “Even if the space behind us was clear, we are too far out of range to contact anyone. It’s fascinating how adept those creatures were, they proved to be faster than any mechanical hyperdrive by bringing us all the way out here in such a short amount of time.”

“Well what is our course of action, Grand Admiral?”

“This sector appears on Chiss maps because we are on the edge of their territory. There are relays inside their borders that we should be able to reach with our long-range communications. I believe that would be our safest course of action. Do you agree?” 

“Yes sir. But what of the Jedi boy?”

“He is of no consequence to us now,” Thrawn replied evenly while staring intently at the mask of a Temple Guard lying on the floor. Trying to find ways to convince the crew to accept Bridger, if he could be recruited, but more importantly finding ways to get Bridger to accept the crew.

“But our mission-”

“No longer matters. Bridger is trapped wherever he managed to go but is probably already dead,” Thrawn told her not believing the last part himself knowing how stubborn he could be. “If you have no more reservations or objections to my plans then you are dismissed.”

“Y-yes o-of course, Grand Admiral,” she nervously replied before bowing her head and quickly walking out of the office.

Thrawn sat in his office pleased with his choice in a Commodore. She is loyal to the Empire and their dogmatic ways now but given time he knew she would come around and see the wisdom in having the Jedi as an ally. He liked staffing his ships with the most intelligent and talented officers he could find and was always pleased when they proved that they could learn from him. Much like Vanto did.

Thrawn switched to the holo communicator on his desk and hailed the captain of the Harbinger. 

“Yes, Grand Admiral?” Pellaeon asked before his distorted projection appeared on Thrawn’s desk. 

“Prepare your ship to receive visitors, captain. Rescue will be coming shortly.”

“I was under the impression we were in unknown space, sir,” Pellaeon replied with some doubt and curiosity creeping into his tone. “How has the Empire located us?” He continued trying to find out who was really coming.

Pellaeon was no fool, that was one of the reasons that Thrawn had him and his crew reassigned to the seventh fleet. Thrawn decided to appease him to gauge his reaction and see if he too could break the rigidity instilled by the Empire. “You are correct, we are in space unknown to the Empire… However, they are not the ones coming to us. The Chiss Ascendancy is close enough to render aid in our time of need. They are completely trustworthy and have no anti-imperial sentiments.”

Thrawn watched Pellaeon’s face intently, trying to gauge his reaction to this news. But he noticed no look of distrust or distress with the information.

“Very good, Grand Admiral. If you believe they are trustworthy, then we will be glad to accept their help.”

“Excellent, Captain. If there is nothing you need to tell me then you are dismissed.”

“Yes Sir,” Pellaeon replied in an even voice before ending the transmission on his end. 

Thrawn was again pleased in his choices of ranking officers. The more narrow-minded members of the fleet may not listen to him under these circumstances, but they would listen to Pellaeon and Faro.

Setting his plan into motion he called up to the Commander Hammerly on the bridge.

“Yes, Grand Admiral?” Hammerly asked answering the call.

“Commander, I need to send a long-range communication from my office, connect my office holo transmitter to the long-range relay.”

“It will be done. Is there anything Else?”

“That will be all Commander,” he finished before cutting of the communication with the bridge opening a new line on the Chiss frequencies.


	4. Chapter 4

Sabine walked back inside the tower after watching her second family depart and found Ryder Azadi and the rest of the Lothal rebels waiting for her. She looked at Ryder expectantly for a few moments before he realized she was waiting for him to talk.

“Lothal owes a great debt to you and Ezra, and it may not look like it now, but this planet will return to its natural beauty. But we need to be ready for whatever the Imps throw at us in retaliation. I’m sure we’d have no shortage of volunteers, but without you we’d have a shortage of leadership,” Ryder finished, looking at her hopefully as she processed his words.

“Are you offering me a job, Ryder?” She asked with a smirk on her face, already knowing where this was going.

“Do I really need to answer that?” he said back jokingly as he looked around the absolute dump they were standing in. “You know, Lothal isn’t exactly rich right now… but I’m sure we could work out alternative forms of payment in exchange for your leadership.”

“Fine I’ll do it,” Sabine replied evenly, but secretly ecstatic and honored that she had been chosen to lead an entire planet’s military.

Ryder chuckled before starting again. “We can start by tearing this garbage heap down and putting you up somewhere else. We can’t have our commander living in this squalor.”  
“No,” she replied vehemently “This is Ezra’s home I won’t let it be destroyed. I’ll clean it out obviously, but I won’t be living anywhere else,” Sabine finished leaving no room for protest as she glared at Lothal’s Governor.

Ryder raised his hands in mock surrender “Alright, alright… The heap will stay. At least let us clean it though, this needs to be done professionally… I mean look at this mess, he clearly wasn’t the only Loth-rat living here,” He finished chuckling at Sabine’s odd demand.

“Good,” she said simply. “You better get a crew out here quick, and make sure they bring a real bed. I’m not sure about you guys but I’m not going to sleep on a pile of dirty laundry.”

“Okay, Sabine. Come with me to the Senate building and we can get started. I’ll get a cleaning crew and some furniture in here immediately.”

“All right then, let’s get going,” Sabine said falling into stride with the rest of the rebels. _“Is somebody going to tell the crew that the elevator doesn’t work?”_ She considered climbing down the ladder.

As the _Ghost_ touched down on the landing pad on Yavin IV Hera let out a shaky breath before getting off her precious ship. She had been dreading the inevitable debriefing about her operations on Lothal for the entire journey, now she had to go in and face Mon Mothma and Bail Organa. Those two would have more than enough questions but she was really dreading the more militarily focused members of the council. General Dodonna knew the _Ghost_ crew personally and would have enough sense to keep the questions about the Jedi to a minimum and the others were usually silent, but Draven would want to pour over every single detail in an excruciating fashion, making Hera relive some of the most painful weeks of her life.

As she made her way into command center, she saw the Alliance High Command gathered around a holo projecting information about Lothal and its possible strategic advantages. As the different generals and diplomats looked up at Hera, they fell silent. Mon Mothma was the first to break the tension.

“Come General Syndulla, we would like to begin your debriefing as quickly as possible,” the former senator said in her warm and motherly tone.

 _“More like an interrogation,”_ Hera thought as she looked at the faces of those gathered before agreeing with a simple nod and walking up to the table. 

As soon as she was standing at the holo-table the questions came at her like a volley of blaster bolts. First was Senator Organa “What is the overall status of the Imperial garrison on Lothal, General Syndulla?” 

“Well, Sir. The Imperial dome that housed the ground forces and most of the Empire’s military assets has been destroyed with the garrison inside.” She paused briefly to let that fact settle before continuing “Before our departure we observed the Imperial remnants on the planet being arrested by the citizens of Capital City.”

“What of the blockade fleet in orbit?” Mon Mothma failing to see how they destroyed it.

“Well you won’t believe me bu-”

“Try us,” Draven challenged.

“General Draven, please keep the interruptions to a minimum. We are all curious about this operation, but it is sometimes best to be patient,” Mon Mothma gently reprimanded him before nodding to Hera to continue.

 _“What a kriffing bantha’s ass,”_ Hera said internally before starting to speak to the command again. “Using frequency zero, Commander Bridger was able to contact and draw in a pod of Purrgil.”

“You’re right I don’t believe you,” Draven said impatiently with an accusing stare.

“That’s enough, Draven!” This time it was Jan who bit back at him, with none of the gentle tone that Mothma utilized.

A few of the other generals and Senator Organa turned to look at Dodonna surprised at him breaking his usually soft-spoken front. General Dodonna had heard the rumors of the Purrgil as well as the loss of the Jedi. He was not going to let Draven turn the entire meeting upside down with his callous and arrogant remarks.

“Thank you, Jan.” Hera replied softly, breaking the tension. Then she took in a deep breath and continued. “By the time the Purrgil arrived in the system, Commander Bridger was inside Thrawn’s flagship buying time for us to raise the planetary shield to prevent an orbital bombardment.” Hera continued shakily “When we reestablished communication with Ezra the Purrgil had already destroyed or removed Thrawn’s fleet in orbit.”

This time the interruption came from Bail “What do you mean by ‘removed,’ General Syndulla?” He inquired gently.

“The Purrgil are capable of hyperspace travel and utilized their ability to latch on and jump away from Lothal.”

“You’re saying you were helped by these creatures?” Draven asked failing to keep the doubt out of his tone.

“Yes,” she replied simply. “Using the Force, Ezra was able to get them to remove the fleet. Unfortunately… he went with it.”

“So, your saying Thrawn has been removed from the conflict?” Admiral Raddus questioned making his first contribution to the meeting. 

“That is correct, Admiral. With the fleet neutralized, and Thrawn taken care of we were able to launch the imperial dome into the atmosphere and activate the self-destruct sequence,” Hera responded looking up to the other leaders with looks ranging from incredulous to concerned. 

“I take it that your Mandalorian had something to do with that?” Antoc Merrick guessed trying to lighten the mood a fraction. 

“Yeah, Antoc,” Hera said back smiling slightly as Merrick smirked at the young girl’s love for explosions.

“Speaking of Sabine, where is she? I understand her and Ezra were close,” Leia questioned, making her presence known to Hera.

“She stayed behind to monitor progress on Lothal.”

“We didn’t authorize that.” This time pointed looks were enough to get Draven to stop.

“It’s fine, she’s earned that right,” Mothma said, defending Wren in her absence. 

Hera smiled at the older woman before Draven brought the mood back down. “What about our asset losses? How are you going to replace two Jedi and all those X-Wings?”

“They weren’t assets! They were People! Don’t talk about them like we can buy new ones, like their loss is akin to inconvenience of a scrapped fighter!” Hera snapped back, getting Draven to slightly flinch back from the infuriated Twi’lek. 

“I think that’s enough for today” Bail interjected. “we can pick this debriefing up tomorrow, and let cooler heads prevail.”

“Hera, wait!” Leia shouted as Hera turned around and looked at the sympathetic girl running up to her. 

“Hey, Leia,” she said softly, looking around the hall before meeting Leia’s gaze. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re doing alright. I know your crew was like a family, and if you want Draven out of there, I can get him reassigned for a day.”

“As much as I like that idea, I don’t think it will do any good. He’ll find me outside of the meeting and bother me anyways. I just wish he would avoid talking about my crew like they were property.”

“I’m sorry, Hera. We need to know about how we lost Kanan and Ezra though, and I know Draven isn’t as eloquently spoken as the rest of us, he is still asking the right questions.”  
“Yeah Leia, his bedside manner could use some work,” Hera scoffed.

“If you want, I can put that information into the briefing packet, so he doesn’t have to ask.”

“I appreciate that,” Hera said thankfully before she started walking down the hall “Come on Leia, I’ll tell you about it on the way to the mess hall.”

Leia caught up quickly and looked at the taller woman and studied her demeanor for a second. She could see through the brave front she put up and observed the sadness in her eyes. She wanted this to be over as quickly as possible knowing that this would be hard for Hera, so as they walked through the stone hallways of the Great Temple, Leia started quickly.

“So… how did Kanan… go?” she asked instantly faltering 

“The strike force of X-Wings was shot down during our attack on the fuel depot. I was captured and when Kanan rescued me we ended up on top of the fuel pods that we were sent to destroy. That… witch, Pryce, saw us up there and fired on the pod with a walker, igniting the fuel. Kanan held back the flames long enough to send me into the gunship we stole, sending me to Ezra with the Force. Then he pushed us away as hard as he but lost his hold on the flames, which took him immediately,” Hera said with a distant look in her eyes as they continued down the long hallway.

“I’m sorry, Hera,” Leia said softly while the entered the mess.

Arriving in Ryder’s new and old office Sabine looked out the window at the residents tearing down all the evidence of Imperial occupation as Governor Azadi made the calls to get the cleaning crew and a bed delivered to the old communications tower. Sabine waited for Ryder to finish on the comm before she spoke up.

“Um, Ryder… your people are stealing E-Webs from the roadblocks,” she said as an AT-DP was knocked over and got lit on fire.

“What?!” he asked, making his way over to the large window. “We need to get this under control before someone gets hurt,” Ryder told her as he ran back to his desk and called what was left of the non-imperial security forces to quell the riots and stop the looting. “That’s enough of that. Sabine come over here so we can focus on defending our planet.”

Sabine walked over to Ryder’s desk and sat down in front of him. “We need to get volunteers from the city, your people seem proud, Ryder. Getting enough volunteers will not be a problem, the problem will be getting too many. We aren’t equipped to handle the sheer amount with just the senate building accepting applicants. We should have the local police setting up recruitment stations throughout the City,” she finished, looking back out at the beautiful sight of fireworks and exploding walkers before the police arrived. 

“I think you’re right, Sabine. We have the left-over Imperial assets that the people seem to be burning. Once we get this under control, we can take stock of our weaponry and vehicles, and try to recruit any stormtroopers who were smart enough to surrender.”

“And we should put bounties out for any who haven’t already surrendered,” she said back quickly

“We don’t have the amount of credits needed for that.” 

“Pay them with whatever we find in the Imperial stores and impounds. That should work, and we can always control what gets out.”

“That would work.” Ryder replied, rising from his seat. “See if you can get your bounty hunter friend to help with all this. Her name’s Ketsu right?”

“Yes, Ryder,” she told him before leaving to get Ketsu. 

By the time she found Ketsu and returned to the senate building the rest of the rebels and local leaders were gathered in Ryder’s office already wrapping up their discussion.  
“Ah, Sabine, Ketsu. Come in here.” As the two Mandalorians walked in they got a few odd looks from the departing locals. Ryder noticed and waited until the door was closed to explain. “They’re nervous about you two. We just got out of an outside occupation, putting our military under the control of two outsiders is not an idea they’re too keen on. But I made sure they knew you were the best for the job. Hell, each of you did more to free Lothal than the rest of them did combined.” Ryder told the two soon-to-be military leaders before he continued “And being Mandalorian both helped and hindered your case.”

“Why exactly did that effect anything?” Sabine demanded already annoyed with the ungrateful bureaucrats that left the room less than one minute ago. 

“Well… Let’s just say Mandalorians aren’t too good at diplomatic solutions, which some of those fools think matters. They think that the new military under you two would be too aggressive and end up like being another Imperial occupation.”

“Ryder you know tha-” Ryder held up a hand stopping her before she could spit out whatever expletives came into her head.

“It’s ridiculous I know. But those were some of the most important people on Lothal, and in the end all that matters is that they agreed to your leadership.”  
“Okay… What else is going on?” Ketsu asked the white-haired governor.

“Well the Capital City Police have secured all the imperial weapons, equipment, and properties. We have a ridiculous number of volunteers already, hell it seems like half the planet is signing on.”

“So, what happens now?” Sabine questioned, not really accepting Ryder’s answer.

“Well Ezra’s tower isn’t clean enough yet, so you won’t be staying there tonight. The place was a way bigger mess than we initially thought so the crew has to get the elevator repaired before they can bring up the needed equipment. Fortunately, we have diplomatic suites in this building from when the government wasn’t evil, so you both can stay here tonight. You can start with the first batch of volunteers in the morning.”

Satisfied with his answers she decided to go back to her suite for the night.

When Sabine opened the door to the large and ornate room, she couldn’t help but hate it. It made her feel like an imperial politician, living off the fruits of everyone else’s labor. She took her armor plates off her bodysuit and set the helmet down with them on a table. Taking off her utility belt, Sabine’s hand brushed against the lightsaber that Chopper gave to her earlier. Putting down the belt, she sat back on the immaculately decorated bed and inspected the weapon made by her people’s sworn enemy. Sabine looked over to the bag she carried in, reminded of the datapad that had shown up on her bed. It was Ezra’s datapad and it contained everything Ezra wrote about and though about for the past four years. Opening it up, the first thing she saw a folder addressed directly to her, she opened it up and found a letter written for her.

_‘Sabine, if you’re reading this then I’m gone. I asked Chop to give this to you, so if anyone else is reading this frag off._

_Anyways, I want to apologize for my sudden departure, lack of a proper goodbye, and vague explanation I left with chopper. Going away on Thrawn’s ship was the only way I could assure Lothal’s freedom and your safety. I know you can look after yourself but what we would be facing is far too dangerous, so I removed myself from the board. With Thrawn gone the rebellion can continue to grow, and with me gone the Empire won’t be hunting you guys relentlessly. I know I’ll see you again someday and that will keep me going for however long I’m out there. I told Chop to give you my lightsaber… if he doesn’t throw him out an airlock and hide from Hera’s wrath. I wouldn’t want to be whoever hurts that droid and has to deal with her. Sorry… I got a little side-tracked there. But I know I can count on you; I’ve seen our future. Again, I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me, and don’t forget: the Force will be with you, always._

_-Your friend, Ezra.'_

Sabine read the letter a few times still not satisfied with his explanation but resolved to beat him senseless when he comes back since he is so confident that he will. Sabine started scrolling through the datapad and found it to be well organized, unlike the last time she took it without him knowing. In the front were articles on lightsaber combat and the cultural history of the lightsaber. She stayed awake for a few more minutes trying to read the incredibly boring historical texts, but soon grew tired while skimming over the personal significance of common lightsaber construction choices. _“It’s no wonder the ancestors hated these guys, it’s all such high and mighty poodoo about boring alloys and shapes.”_ She thought before closing her eyes and surrendering to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Day 182, 0 BBY**  
Ezra woke up on the examination table some hours later to the quiet whine of the mysterious holocron. The slightly larger than normal Jedi holocron looked like it had more pieces in its design. The Force energy it was radiating was unlike anything Ezra had felt before, it was the warmest energy he had ever felt and was in sharp contrast with what he remembered from the Sith holocron he’d taken from Malachor. This was welcoming, the feelings he got when holding it were even better than the ones he felt when using Kanan’s. 

When he looked over at the holocron he wondered why it would not open for him. He knew he could still use the Force and he hadn’t channeled the Dark trying to open it, with another failed attempt Ezra decided to give up for the night and move into the cabin he would be taking as his own.

**Day 183, 0 BBY**

When Ezra woke early next morning, the mysterious holocron was not calling out to him like it had been last night, but when he focused, he could still feel its pull. He got out of the bed and as he was dressing himself, he looked over at the normal Jedi holocron and a stack of datapads sitting on the shelves in the cabin. He had a feeling that he should look for information about the mysterious holocron before he opened it an unknowingly released some great evil thing that would make the Emperor look like a loving grandfather. With little to no effort from years of practice, Ezra pulled one of the datapads towards him, upon opening it he discovered a historical archive of every conflict and event that the Jedi had been involved in for the past fifteen thousand or so years. It was information on pretty much everything right up until the Clone War. _“Maybe I can learn something about why the Mandalorians don’t like us.”_ Putting the historical archive down, he called over the next one in the pile. This one contained schematics and lessons on everything technology related he skimmed through the directory seeing things from ‘hyperdrive mechanics’ to ‘advanced electronics.’ Deciding to come back to that one in a minute, Ezra called over the third datapad. He opened the holocron finding instruction on every type of lightsaber combat, every single form and counter technique was explained on this device with hundreds of pages of detailed notes and personal experiences, _“Well, I’ve got nothing but time. I’ll get around to it.”_ He decided before putting the datapad with the others. Exploring the fourth datapad he found weapon and armor schematics from every major faction and culture in the galaxy. He opened the section for Mandalorian armor and weapons, which contained detailed instructions on Beskar forging weapon designs and possible modifications as well as the cultural aspects of it. _“I mean I’m never going to use any of this, but how did he manage to get what seems like their best kept secrets?”_ placing the datapad to the side he grabbed the glowing blue holocron off the shelf. The holocron was dedicated to Force techniques, but instead of what he usually found in Kanan’s this one talked about the absolute dedication to the light through embracing emotion instead of trying to suppress it.

Waiting until his concussion was healed before he started to read more Jedi philosophy, Ezra resolved to stick with what he knew. Reaching out with the Force again, he accessed the vast information on technology on the second datapad. Skimming through the directory again, Ezra stopped at what he thought he would be best at: ‘advanced electronics.’

Growing up on the streets of Lothal had not been easy for Ezra, with no steady source of credits or food he was forced to adapt. Most of the time his “Adaptation” was stealing, but sometimes it was more honest than that. Ezra would spend most of the hours during the day picking through the imperial scrapyards (because it wasn’t stealing if it was from the empire) hoping to find something he could barter for food, but the broken equipment he managed to find was never worth enough. To get around that Ezra inevitably became extremely well versed in mechanics and electronics, often impressing the vendors he went to, and later the _Ghost_ crew with the repairs he made. But a pre-empire, Jedi written library of state-of-the-art electronic work could never hurt to look at.

Jumping right into diagrams procured from ‘Kaminoan Armor Smiths LTD’ Ezra realized that the phase II clone armor was lightyears ahead of the modern Plasteel Pig armor. The armor schematics for the Advanced Recon Commando gear showed just why Rex loved his armor so much. The design favored quality over quantity with its dimensions and angles painstakingly calculated to have peak effectiveness opposed to the cheapest manufacturing process, and the number of sensors and subsystems in this armor made it the most comprehensive set of protection Ezra had ever seen. 

After pouring over the phase II schematics for a few hours Ezra resolved to go outside for the first time since he climbed into the Consular Cruiser. On his way down the main hall Ezra made sure to grab his E-11D, water, and a pair of Macrobinoculars from the ship’s armory. Opening the airlock and clambering on top of the frigate he got his first view of the surrounding landscape, the ship was pressed against a cliff face at the bottom of a mountain range that wrapped around from the south west to the north west of the crash. To his south west in front of the end of the cliffs he could see his crashed escape pod, according to the range finder on the binoculars it was a little more than a kilometer away. Behind the pod, spanning from the end of the cliffs was a lush forest wrapping around all the way to the south east of the ship ending just after a small stream that came down from the mountains. To the east and north east lied plains as far as the binoculars could see with scars evident from the crash of the cruiser going for a few kilometers _“They must have been going pretty fast…”_ But what disheartened him the most was the fact that the ship was in a small depression with what looked like waterlines that almost made it to the top of the ship. Ezra hadn’t seen this when he first found the ship but now, he could see the marks of what was once algae nearing the top of the ship, indicating long periods of flooding in the area. 

A sort of panic set in for Ezra when he figured this out, he knew he if the area flooded that deep then he wouldn’t be able to make it back out to the ship, because from the looks of things, the flooding reached the land almost a kilometer away in every direction. However, at the same time Ezra knew he couldn’t stay on the ship and ride out the floods. He had no idea how often they occurred, or how long they were sustained. He _needed_ to find somewhere else, quickly looking around again with the binoculars he noted the waterline and the terrain around it. _“Cliffs? Nope too hard to climb and too long to walk around.”_ Shifting his gaze south, he looked at the shadowy forest _“Doesn’t look like the ground is much higher than the flood marks. And Force only knows what I’ll find waiting for me in there.”_ Scanning to the east over the stream he noted some small hills from where loose soil from both the crashes and floods was pushed into a levy of sorts. _“That… might actually work.”_ Magnifying the view, he noted that there was a good three meters between the flood line and the top of the soil. 

Knowing that was his best chance, Ezra headed east to inspect what would become his home for the foreseeable future. 

Arriving at the stream a little while later, Ezra used a force assisted jump to cross the rapidly moving water and climbed up the berm. _“Okay… doesn’t look like it floods here.”_ Jumping down into the plains behind the pile he felt around the soil, checking for any indication of soggy ground or soft dirt that would make the area unsuitable. Finding the location acceptable his only problem became actually making a shelter, standing on top of the berm he looked out to the portion of forest on his side of the stream, The trees were certainly large enough but getting them over the kilometer between them and his spot would be an issue _“Well I’m not gonna be rolling them, that’s for damn sure.”_ Hoping the ship would have an answer in its unexplored cargo hold he started his walk back.

Up on the bridge of the _Chimaera_ Thrawn waited, looming over the sensor officer studying his station intently for any sign of a ship being picked up. Moments later the officer under the uncomfortable gaze of Thrawn was relieved when an alarm started blinking and ringing on his panel, quickly moving closer to the terminal his hands worked through the scanner’s data as fast as he could, all while feeling Thrawn’s eyes burning a hole into the back of his head. “Sir. We have a ship emerging from hyperspace… Unknown design… unknown classification. Should we put the fleet on alert?”

“No lieutenant, that will not be necessary.”

“Sir?”

“Our rescue has arrived… Commander Hammerly, have the repair crews and chief engineer meet me in the hangar.” Turning to his second in command he continued, “Commodore Faro, I’m trusting you to oversee operations in my absence, contact the rest of the fleet and make sure they do not fire upon the incoming craft.”

Not waiting for a response from either of the women he exited the bridge and made his way to the main hangar behind his typical façade of indifference.

**Day 184, 0 BBY**

As Ezra hit the light switch entering the cargo hold another thought dawned on him _“I have no idea how long this power is going to last.”_ As he made his way through the cargo hold he was awestruck at the amount of equipment jammed inside, _“armor, rifles, fuel cells, power cells, survival equipment, armor attachments, wiring kits, pumps, weapon attachments… and a couple old BARC speeders. Just what I need.”_ Powering up the speeder and walking it towards the door he was getting excited, he remembered all Rex’s old stories about these things, they were fast, agile, and deadly, the last part true for the rider as well if they weren’t careful. However, this was his first time actually seeing one and the holos didn’t do them justice. The sleek lines and rugged design making it a beauty of clone wars engineering. 

His admiration of the vehicle was interrupted when the button for the cargo bay doors did not open the ship. _“Oh, kriff that’s right. They crashed. Of course the bottom of the ship isn’t going to open.”_ Knowing he wasn’t going to get out using the same hatched he used to climb in he sighed but accepted the fact he was going to have to cut a hole in the side of the ship. Up until now the cruiser’s design had held up under the environmental pressures, unfortunately Ezra had to cut it to ensure his own survival. With the snap hiss of Kanan’s lightsaber Ezra got to work on a custom cargo bay door.

As the chunk of the hull fell out and onto the ground below, Ezra pushed the BARC speeder forwards and looked back at the now fully illuminated cargo hold, on one of the shelves he saw what he was going to need _“ah…Repulsorlifts.”_ Slipping outside with the speeder Ezra went back and grabbed the gravity defying modules and cutting apart some of the shelves that he couldn’t care less about the contents of. _“This may take a while…”_ Day 185, 0 BBY

Ezra unintentionally slept in the next morning not realizing how little rest he actually had in the past few days. When he woke up at what he guessed to be ten in the morning on this planet and silently chastised himself as he got dressed and made his way into the cargo hold. Looking at the mess he made when assembling his trailer, he cringed knowing he would have to clean it all up. And now that he cut a massive hole in the otherwise watertight vessel, he would have to move everything out of the hold before the next flood. Sighing at the mess he had put himself into Ezra hooked up the trailer, strapped on his E-11D, and made sure Kanan’s lightsaber was in working order before making his way down to the forest.

_“I really need to start thinking these things through...”_ The trailer he fabricated was nearly perfect, its design was foolproof and the abundance of repulsorlifts made it able to support nearly anything he could put on it. But the one glaring oversight was that he couldn’t drop a massive tree onto the thing.

The tree itself was amazing, straight, wide, and surprisingly tough, he knew it would make an excellent house, Ezra cut the tree into a long rectangle so he could easily stack them up for transport, using the Force for this was tiring but necessary, and when he was done by a little after mid-day he was exhausted. Tiredly plopping down in the seat of the speeder Ezra started the engine and started slowly moving towards the site of his future home.

After he arrived back at the berm, he was too tired to do anything else for now, deciding upon rest he went into the ship for a ration and some water, looking at the notes an armor wiring as he relaxed. Taking advantage of his Jedi meditation techniques Ezra quickly replenished his energy enough to grab a shovel and some other landscaping tools and head back out.

Arriving at the disconnected trailer, Ezra hopped off the speeder and got to work digging out a spot for what would be the foundation, placing the four logs into the now even surface and cutting holes for support beams with the lightsaber Ezra headed for the forest for the last time that day.

Pulling in with his speeder and trailer at the edge of the forest as the sun started to sink behind the mountains, Ezra started cutting up smaller trees to be used as the walls and structural supports. He felt a presence behind him and noticed the usual beautiful birdsongs that reverberated through the forest had suddenly stopped. Standing up slowly and walking over the soft grass as steadily as he could, he made his way to where the E-11D was attached to the speeder. He picked it up and swung his body around as fast as he could only to meet the most horrifying creature he had ever seen. Charging at him was a two-meter-tall quadruped, with short bristled hair and violent spikes coming out of its back. Ezra was finally able to lift his arm to fire but it was far too late, the animal lunged at him with its long narrow jaw opening to a row of razor sharp teeth and tried taking a bite out of him. He turned the blaster carbine sideways fast enough to avoid losing his arm, the creature pinned him to the ground gnawing on the E-11D and sending sparks out of the main assembly. Realizing it couldn’t get him with its massive jaws it resolved to use the claws previously concealed in its paws to put a set of three massive gashes from just below his neck to the bottom of his ribs, slicing into him diagonally. Ezra thought he was going to die until he unconsciously found himself reaching for Kanan’s lightsaber and bringing it around to land a glancing blow on the side of the creature. With it distracted long enough for him to make his move, Ezra closed down the lightsaber, maneuvered it to the jaw and reactivated it, putting a clean burning hole going up through its head and making the animal fall limp onto him. 

Now he was racing back to the frigate and the 2-1B droid to patch up his wounds, but as he got closer his vision faded continuously until he made it to the airlock seemingly blacking out as he opened it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Day 190, 0 BBY**

News of Lothal’s liberation reverberated throughout every single rebel cell in the Outer Rim and the Mandalorian resistance was no different. Now Ursa Wren stood around a holo table with her husband, son, Bo-Katan, and Fenn Rau. < Looks like the Specters did it, > Rau said as they all looked on in awe at the footage of the exploding Imperial dome.

< I have no doubt Sabine had something to do with that, > Alrich stated as he pointed to the paused footage of the explosion. 

Ursa chuckled silently at her daughter’s appetite for destruction that seemed to serve her well in any situation. 

< How much of that do you think was the Jedi? > Tristan inquired.

Ursa made no attempt to hide her scowl at the mention of the two Jedi that her daughter operated with. The blind one and his Force magic was far too preachy for her taste, and the boy seemed downright foolish. In the months that Sabine had spent on Krownest before the boy came crawling to them, begging for aide, Sabine had made countless excuses for him. In the end, the boy seemed loyal if not anything else, he was willing to fight against trained Mandalorians and rescue Alrich because of a perceived debt to her clan. And she couldn’t forget his bravery when he had given his jetpack away so Alrich could make his escape, although they both probably would have died if the boy had been the one to fly.

< Oh, come on. They weren’t that bad, > Tristan reasoned. < Ezra did a pretty good job at rescuing father. >

< Which one was Ezra? > She found herself asking. 

< I think it was the short child, > Bo answered clearly thinking hard. 

< Ezra was the Jedi’s padawan learner, the one who rescued Alrich as his transport fell over the cliff, > Rau explained, seeming to be slightly annoyed at their disregard for the Specters. It seemed that everyone except for her liked them at least to some degree. Hells, even Bo seemed to tolerate the boy. But Ursa knew she couldn’t be wrong about him; she’d seen the way he looked at Sabine and found his true intentions in his staring. There was no way in the galaxy she would allow her own daughter fall for a Jedi, nevertheless one as weak as ‘Ezra’ had been. 

The group was debating about whether or not to contact Sabine to give their congratulations to the crew, but Rau’s voice broke the overlapping conversations. < That’s not good, > he said ominously. 

Ursa looked up at the projection as an Imperial reporter came on screen with an image of the Empire’s crest in the background. _‘Glory to our Empire!’_ the shill started as she began to make exaggerated movements that were laughable to those gathered if not for the context. _Today, I have the privilege to announce the deaths of the galaxy’s last two Jedi during a failed attempt to overthrow the Empire. The governor of Lothal, Arihdna Pryce, bravely lead an armored division to repel a rebel assault on an Imperial relief supplies depot where the rebels destroyed thousands of tons of food meant for the refugees that they had displaced. However, they could not escape Pryce as she ordered Walkers to fire on the fleeing vermin.’_

Fenn Rau sneered at the woman as she celebrated the deaths of two honorable combatants. _‘And the child was later killed in an ill-fated attempt to avenge his master, only succeeding to destroy the communications satellite on the Imperial dome before our brave pilots quickly dispatched them.’_

< Bantha fodder… > Tristan said at the woman. < That was a fuel depot, and the entire garrison was destroyed by Sabine. There’s no way they can keep this lie up for long. >

< But do you think they’re really dead? > Alrich asked nervously. 

Everyone stopped talking and looked to Alrich for a tense moment. Alrich quickly leaned in and commed Captain something or rather of the _Ghost_. 

“Ah, Count Wren. It’s good to see you again,” The green Twi’lek said pleasantly. “What can I help you with?”

“Captain Syndulla, Are the Jedi really dead?” He asked quietly. 

Syndulla’s face fell at the question and tears welled up in her eyes. “Only Kanan… Ezra is just gone.”

“What do you mean by ‘gone’?” Rau inquired.

“Well, you know our Jedi… Ezra used the Force to summon a pod of Purrgil of all things to drag the _Chimaera_ into hyperspace. But he went with it.”

“What about Sabine?” Ursa demanded, tired of hearing about Jedi.

“Sabine is unharmed, but… she stayed behind on Lothal to make sure the Empire didn’t come back.”

“What is her comm frequency?”

“0-4-6-3-496. I have to go; I may be speaking to you all shortly though.” Syndulla ended the connection on her end and Ursa pushed Alrich away from the keypad with her body and quickly keyed in the frequency that Syndulla had given them.

After a moment of waiting the holo began to connect. When it was established, an exhausted Sabine appeared above the table. < Hello, mother. >  
< What are you doing on Lothal? > Ursa demanded, ignoring Sabine’s greeting entirely. 

The young woman rolled her eyes at Ursa. < Oh, boy > she said feigning enthusiasm. < Well. I’m making sure that Kanan didn’t die for nothing, and I’m making sure Ezra didn’t do… gods know whatever he did for nothing too. >

< Hmm… Well, Lothal is unimportant; you must return to Krownest at once > Ursa said impatiently.

Sabine visibly recoiled at her mother’s order. < No > came the curt reply. 

< What of your duty to your clan? > Ursa demanded as she folded her arms over her chest and glared at the hologram of her daughter.

< I made a promise to Ezra, > Sabine answered simply. < I’m staying on Lothal until it’s safe. >

Ursa, at the surface was immensely annoyed, but underneath she was more furious than she had ever been.. Not only did she disregard her order and her clan, but she did it because of some sort of devotion to the Jedi boy. 

< I wish you well, Sab’ika, > Alrich told her over the communicator. < I will contact you soon. >

< Thank you, father. It was great to see you all again, but I have a military to build. Goodbye. > With that, Sabine’s hologram faded from the table and the room was dim once again. Instead of the annoyance she had just felt, all she could feel now was an overwhelming sense of guilt at how callous she was being about all of this. It wasn’t like she was never coming back. Right?

Alrich’s hand rested on Ursa’s shoulder. < Come, dear. We have many matters to attend to. >


	7. Chapter 7

**Day 190, 0 BBY**

Ezra woke up in the infirmary’s Bacta tank staring back into the eyes of the 2-1B medical droid he had met before. Confusion set in because the last thing he remembered was everything growing dim as he ran to the airlock with massive gouges running down his chest.

“Welcome back, sir.” The droid said in its programmed emotionless tone as it floated Ezra to the top and started the recycling process for the Bacta.

“Wha- What happened?” Ezra asked, removing the breathing mask, and clambering out of the tank.

“You were bleeding outside the ship when I found you. The origin of your injuries is unknown at this time, in your unconscious state you were unable to answer the relevant questions that would disclose them.”

“I was attacked by a… thing. I don’t know what it was so don’t even ask.” Ezra informed the droid as he redressed himself and tried to leave.

He hobbled across the room, and just before he made it through the doorway the droid turned to him and spoke. “It would be best if you allow yourself to finish healing over the next few days. If you would like I have rather interesting data on Bacta treatment effectiveness that I’m sure you would find interesting.”

 _“Great this droid is just like AP-5.”_ “No, I think I’m all set. I’m sure I’ll find another way to pass the time.” He was regaining the feeling in his legs as he replied to the droid and was able to stumble down the hall before it could say anything else.

“Understood, Sir,” He heard the droid call out from behind him

With that Ezra made his way down the main corridor and into the armory. The Jedi robes he was eyeing earlier clearly weren’t going to cut it no matter the strength of the armor weave, but what caught his eye was a set of Advanced Recon Commando armor sitting on top of a crate in the corner.

The body suit was a bit loose as he wasn’t the same size as a clone trooper, but he made it work along with the thigh armor, torso armor and gauntlets. Ignoring the ARC helmet that was with the set, Ezra picked up a helmet he had not seen before. The design was different from any clone helmet he’d seen. The eyes were closer to the stormtrooper helmet than the T-shape of the rest of the clone helmets and had a short bill coming over them. The side of the helmet featured an extended com link and the breathing apparatus looked like that of a scout trooper, but this helmet did not have the curves of the other types of helmets. Instead of the more traditional design, the faceplate was an even arcing solid piece until the bottom where it bulged out and curled back in to seal the helmet. The customization of the helmet featured the same orange as the ARC armor and his own jacket, with the painted lines following the breathing apparatus up and came together in a thick line going up the centerline of the helmet until it thinned out on top of the visor and stretched around the back. Another line on each side split the front in half and passed just outside the eye sockets onto the top of the helmet where the widened and curled over the top. Liking the helmet Ezra took it and his new armor back to the cabin he had claimed. 

Arriving in the cabin and breaking open another set of rations Ezra looked over what he determined would protect him from another injury like that. Ezra mindlessly ate a bit of the ration that was undoubtedly older than him and spit it out. _“Oh, Force. How did the clones ever eat this? How did Kanan ever eat this?”_ Getting back to his new set of armor, he decided that he was really happy that whatever division was on this ship had chosen his favorite shade of orange, to entertain himself Ezra opened the ARC armor schematics on the datapad and went back to reading, learning about all the armor had to offer while heeding the droid’s advice to relax.

When Ezra was fully healed, he renewed his resolve to construct a shelter before the eventual floods came. After another week of cutting and moving wood Ezra was nearly finished gathering what he needed to begin the construction of the walls. However, as he made one of his last runs to the edge of the forest he sensed another one of the creatures that had almost killed him before, but this time he was determined to end the confrontation peacefully instead of having to kill the creature. Reaching out with the Force, Ezra found its signature creeping low through the forest behind him. He tried to present himself as something other than a threat or food to the creature, but when he contacted it all he felt was darkness swirling around it. As he attempted to connect, the darkness inside the creature grew in response to the light side energy he was willing towards it. Ezra felt the anger of the creature grow as it got closer to his position before he felt it break out into a sprint with murderous intent.

Snapping out of his connection with the Force, Ezra rolled and drew Kanan’s lightsaber as the creature lunged at him. Unlike the first time, Ezra was ready for the speed and power of it. Springing up from the roll, he jumped over its spiked back and got into the Ataru ready position and prepared for the onslaught it was about to deliver. As the creature slid to a stop, digging its sharp claws into the ground for traction, it turned around to face a waiting Ezra. The creature circled him, waiting for a gap in his defense, it snarled and passively sent waves of dark energy at Ezra while its sharp teeth were on full display. When it located what it thought was exploitable it lunged, only to be met with a horizontal slice from the glowing blue blade its prey was wielding, as the blade made contact the creature raised its armored front leg in a blur of movement and deflected the blow effortlessly.

Spinning around using the momentum from the animal’s parry, Ezra turned the move into a diagonal swipe at the creature’s chest, grazing it and enraging it more than injuring. Seizing the opportunity, it lunged again with its claws and teeth bared but only caught air as Ezra narrowly avoided the attack by sliding low to the creature’s flank. Springing from his crouched position, Ezra made a jab into the creatures underarm but couldn’t move back in time to avoid the panicked swing of the creatures arm, sending him backwards but thankfully uninjured as the armor took the impact in stride. _“Rex was right about this clone armor.”_ Rolling towards the creature as it lunged, Ezra was able to get a hard slice going down the length of its unarmored gut sending the creature tumbling when it hit the ground and wincing in pain. 

Ezra looked at the animal with sorrow in his eyes, only to be met with hatred as he raised the lightsaber and plunged it into the head of the creature.

On his way back to his homestead, Ezra realized just how close he came to being eviscerated by the thing, and the hatred coming off of it sent shivers through his body and made the hair on his neck stand up. Knowing he needed a way out of fighting these things from a distance Ezra considered his options. _“Blasters won’t do much good, I mean, hell, my lightsaber barely works against it. The only way to get a lethal hit it with a jab.”_ Ezra disconnected the trailer and started heading back to the ship. _“Getting close to them is too dangerous. If I make any mistakes… I’m lunch.”_ Climbing into the airlock and looking at the rack of blasters as he passed the armory on the way to his room. _“I wonder if Mandalorian blasters could penetrate that hide, if only I had a reliable set, the only thing more powerful than those is a lightsaber and I won’t pick apart Kanan’s for that…”_ Opening the bulkhead to the cabin Ezra heard a what sounded like a song emanating from a small bag on the ground. _“What is th- The Kyber Crystals!”_ He ran over and dumped the bag onto the bed and picked up the crystal calling to him. _“It’s a little bigger than my lightsaber crystals were… Maybe too big.”_

Ezra took the crystal into his hands and knelt on the floor like he’d done hundreds of times before, slipping into a meditative trance, Ezra’s answer was given to him in the form of a vision that included a DC-15 from the armory. And he could only guess what the green, powerful bolt was a part of.

Coming out of the trance hours later, Ezra got up and bolted into the cargo hold to grab every lightsaber electronic component and wire he could find before doing the same in the armory and grabbing one of the DC-15 rifles from the lockers.

**Day 203, 0 BBY**

It took him a few days, but Ezra eventually had a working version. Using the datapad on weaponry and the datapad with the wiring information, he was able to fit the crystal into the receiver with the necessary components, and with the systems designed to use the blaster gas removed he could fit even more power cells into the rifle while making it lighter.

Climbing onto the dorsal section of the ship, Ezra knelt just outside of the dorsal hatch and scoped in on the forest about a kilometer away. With a carefully aimed shot he sent a bolt of Kyber powered plasma into the trunk of a tree, shattering its base from over a kilometer away. 

Ezra spent the next few weeks making precision cuts on the logs and using the Force to move them into place. After finishing the walls and digging a diverting canal and irrigation system in case the water got too high, he started stripping the interior of the ship to further strengthen his home with the plastoid sheets. After lining the interior and exterior walls as well as underlaying the floor with plastoid and making a fireplace with a chimney from durasteel, Ezra built a roof that sloped into a gutter that would send the water into storage tanks along the roof of his house, giving a natural water pressure to a makeshift faucet and shower that was really just pipes coming from the ceiling.

Satisfied with the livable state of his home he moved on to the irrigation ditches he had dug earlier. Ezra tilled the soil with the shovel he had found in the cargo hold and planted some of the fruit and vegetables he had found in the forest.


	8. Chapter 8

**Day 230, 0 BBY**

Ezra woke up to the soft light from the planet’s star shining through the windows he had made in his wall. Squinting as he climbed out of bed, He reached over for Kanan’s lightsaber and his rifle before attaching the ARC armor to his bodysuit.

He sighed as he walked towards the window overlooking his farm. In the rows of vegetables was one of those nasties from the forest, stalking him through the opening in his wall. “I don’t want to kill you!” he shouted down at the creature as he unslung his rifle. “Just leave!” 

He heard the creature’s low growl in response as it began to slowly stalk towards his house. Ezra raised his rifle and aimed the built-in sights, he shouldered the rifle as he leaned out the window, resting the barrel on the windowsill. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he slowly squeezed the trigger. The green bolt flew from the barrel of the rifle and struck the creature in the front of its head, just above the right eye. 

The blaster hole was still smoking when Ezra went outside to collect the limp corpse. The glazed over eyes of the creature stared back at Ezra as he dragged it out to his house. When he got it back, he dropped the legs he was using to drag it and rested his hands on his knees as he bent over to catch his breath. When he recovered from the short but difficult walk, he grabbed the cable that ran through a pulley on a platform built just for this. Ezra wrapped the cable around its legs and hoisted it up into the air, pulling with every bit of strength and energy he had before tying it off, suspending the animal’s corpse above the ground. 

He grabbed a piece of sharpened durasteel he had and slit its throat from ear to ear. He quickly retracted his hand as the blood began to pour out of the slit and running down the small hill. Out in the distance, Ezra could sense it. Something watching him, something different than the type of animal he had just killed. The energy felt bright, warm, it felt like the Loth-wolves had when they brought them to the Jedi temple. Reaching out with the Force, Ezra brushed its mind with his presence, and it reacted in kind. He felt the creature’s consciousness as he connected with it. _“Who are you?”_ the creature asked in his head. The deep rumble of its ‘voice’ had come from everywhere around him, seeming to be an omnipotent presence. 

“My name’s Ezra,” He said aloud to nobody. 

_“Join us, Ezra,”_ the voice ordered. _“Follow your instincts, the Force will be your guide.”_

Ezra gripped Kanan’s saber and twisted his hands around the hilt nervously as he debated internally whether to listen to the voice. Deciding that he would be well enough armed to fight whatever was out there, Ezra grabbed a canteen and some rations and started towards the source of the call. 

Ezra walked for a few hours into the fields, the tall grass brushing against his waist as he made his way into the it. Eventually, his home was just a blip on the horizon, a small indication of civilization among the otherwise nondescript landscape. He crested a small hill and came upon a depression in the ground. A growling could be heard as creatures seemingly materialized in the grass below him while they stood. But when he reached out with the Force, he found it to be the same signature that called to him before. Ezra breathed in and out slowly and rhythmically, finding his center before reaching out to connect with the creature. The growling stopped as Ezra stood with his eyes closed and hand extended at them.

 _“Welcome…”_ the deep voice rumbled as he locked eyes with the largest one. 

Ezra cautiously stepped forward. “Why did you call me here?”

Now that it was fully standing, the creature resembled a Loth-wolf but was even larger with thicker fur and none of the rough gray skin showing through on its body. The snout was more rounded towards the end and the contrasting black and white on it made the coat appear much richer in color. The wolf gave its approximation of a smile before stepping back. _”Well, come._

Ezra followed it into the swaying grass that was much deeper than he had originally thought. It turned and took a step into a small bare patch; Ezra blindly followed it and fell into a small cavern after it. 

_”Is he going to eat me?”_ he asked himself.

The wolf turned towards him, “No,” it said simply before turning away once again and walking deeper into the cave. He slowly pulled the saber from his hip so he wouldn’t threaten the creature and thumbed the activator. The blue blade cast a warm glow all around him and he could just make out the outline of the creature in front of him. A reflective outcropping refracted the light, obscuring the animal momentarily. When he passed the large crystalline structure, he expected to see the animal still guiding him. Instead he found a five-way split in the narrow passage. 

Directly above him was a small hole that filtered light through crack in the surface of the planet, gently illuminating the junction and the beginnings of the hallway. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus on what felt right to him, he got light-headed as he opened his eyes and looked down the hallways. Now he just felt… weird. Shrugging off the feeling he did the only thing he could think of. He stuck his arm out straight with his index finger pointing and began to spin around enough to make him lose his orientation. Thank the Force Kanan couldn’t see him now; his master would have buried his non-working eyes in his hands and sighed in feigned disappointment as he showed Ezra a way to pick that would undoubtedly work better. Ending the line of thought, he abruptly stopped spinning, stumbling as he dampened his momentum. He was pointing at the cave on the far right.

As he took his first step into the hallway, he felt the stone floor beneath him depress almost unnoticeably, and soft blue light flooded an unseen swirling pattern along the floors and walls, pouring out and spreading down the long passage like a fluid, illuminating the passageway. Further down the passage, he heard maniacal cackling as it echoed towards his position. He gripped Kanan’s saber tightly and pressed himself against the wall as he proceeded. 

After a few moments, the cackling stopped and all he could hear were his own footfalls and the soft clicking of his armor plates as they lightly tapped each other at their edges. The further down the tunnel he went, the colder it became, and the air became still. He paused for a few seconds debating the risks of proceeding, but something in the back of his mind was telling him to move forward. 

A few minutes later, a breeze picked up again after he heard shattering transparisteel. He could hear what sounded like speeders moving at their top speed. His curiosity got the better of him and he kept moving towards the source. He was close to it when a glowing blue man that Ezra recognized as Anakin Skywalker sprinted past him. Knowing it was important, Ezra sprinted after the war hero and followed him into what looked like an office. The room was destroyed, the bodies of three Jedi lay dead on the floor, felled from lightsaber slashes. The destroyed office hosted three figures, one was Anakin Skywalker, one was the Emperor, and one was a man he’d only seen a few times in the holocron, _”Mace Windu? I think that’s what Ahsoka called him.”_

The purple lightsaber was raised high over his head as the wind whipped around them, making their robes flutter in the wind, the Emperor was on the ground whimpering at Anakin. The sound of the massive city before him was nearly deafening, and the shouting from the three men in the room was just barely louder. Suddenly, all the sound in the room stopped and Windu brought his saber down hard at Palpatine. Ezra’s breath hitched at seeing how close they came to avoiding the Empire’s rule, but was shocked to see Anakin ignite a blue saber and sever Windu’s wrist, sending his saber and hand out the window and into the city streets below. The Emperor stopped whimpering and both of his hands were outstretched at Windu blindingly fast before a storm of Force lightning erupted from the tips of his fingers, surprising the Jedi master and sending him flying after his saber and hand on the streets below. 

Ezra was shocked to see Anakin kneel before the Emperor seconds later and could faintly hear him pledging himself to the older man’s teachings. He took a few steps back and felt himself walk into a something hard. He lurched forward and drew his saber again as he spun around. In front of him was a man he’d never seen before. Ezra looked up at the man who was about as tall as Zeb. Even with the tip of the saber at his nose, the man stood their calmly and looked down at Ezra with a look that Ezra couldn’t quite discern. His expression was decidedly neutral, but his gray eyes were tired. The man’s well kempt, silky looking, gray hair was combed back, allowing Ezra to see the fine wrinkles and small scars that added to his face, along with the gray beard that followed his jaw line until the thicker portions around his mouth. The well-trimmed and groomed mustache curled slightly up at the ends. Ezra couldn’t decide what to think of the man, he seemed to look like a warrior through and through, but had a look of wisdom and regality, while his eyes looked tired they also seemed to show understanding and compassion. 

Ezra took another step back as the man calmly locked eyes with him, Ezra could feel his curiosity through the Force but could tell he was unamused with the vague threat Ezra was giving him. Ezra broke his eye contact and took stock of the man. His arms folded behind his back in a form of cool confidence made Ezra think that even with his lightsaber, the man knew he could beat him into the ground effortlessly. The black suit he wore underneath his armor could be seen mostly at his neck and under his chest plate, with the small gold trim breaking up the monotonous dark. The ornate armor the man wore started high upon his neck, the white material with more ornate patterns went nearly to the base of his head and left a gap where his throat was. The shoulder guards and chest plate were one and sported what looked light strips of soft white light at the bottom. The black and gold cape was held to the chest piece by what looked like small bars of armor that attached to the spaces just off center on both sides. Large geometric styled pauldrons were placed on top of the cape with more light emitting strips as well as a pair of matching symbols on the sides. The plate covering his stomach started at his flanks just below the ribs and followed the ribcage up to the base of his throat and had the head of a dragon over more ornate gold patterning and texturing, and a black and gold armor belt was set over the stomach portion. “Welcome, Ezra. My name is Valkorion,” the man greeted in a deep, slightly gravely voice that seemed to resemble an Imperial accent.

“Uh, okay, Valkorion,” Ezra replied nervously. “What am I doing here?”

“That is for you and you alone to discover. I will be your guide through the temple however.”

“Temple? Like a Jedi temple?” Ezra asked, his excitement got the better of him at the prospect of meeting another Jedi.

“No,” he answered simply. “A temple to the Force, one I have been imprisoned in for thousands of years,” the look of sadness on his face made Ezra feel sympathetic for a few moments. 

“Why were you trapped here?” he blurted out. “Sorry, sir,” he said sheepishly when the man hesitated to answer, hoping he didn’t overstep.

“A Sith entity, Vitiate, forced me from my own body. I was brought here by the Force to safeguard its temple from his onslaught.” The man moved for the first time, turning around as he explained his situation to Ezra. “I lost everything that day. He took control of my body, my people, and tried for the galaxy, but all he brought was their destruction,” he finished bitterly.

Ezra took a step back, considering his next words. “What happened?” Ezra paused for a few seconds and got nervous. “If you don’t mind me asking,” he amended.

“In short, Vitiate lost the war, his power was so great that the Jedi, Sith, and Mandalorians all worked together for his downfall. He corrupted the people of Zakuul and in the end the Eternal Empire was destroyed.” 

Ezra stood thinking for a moment, the man in front of him lost everything to the Sith, maybe he could be a good ally, but then again, Maul did too, Ezra knew he would have to tread carefully.

“Come then, Ezra. We shouldn’t keep it waiting.” Without waiting for a reply, Valkorion was walking down the hall and continuing past many more scenes. Ezra scurried to catch up to him and quickly found himself in stride with the middle-aged man. 

They eventually followed the blue light into a large open area that was completely silent except for the sound of trickling water. “Sit here, use your Jedi meditation and commune with the Force,” he ordered. 

Ezra complied and soon sank into a trance. Wordlessly, he communed with the Force, understanding that must face a trial in the caves. His eyes shot open and he was back in the open area. Standing to the side was Valkorion, looking at an opening on the far end. He heard an insane sounding laugh from the hall and reached for his lightsaber, only to find it missing from his belt. He looked over at Valkorion who was inspecting it. Ezra reached for the saber, but the man wouldn’t release it. “No,” he said authoritatively. “Use this one.” 

The man handed Ezra a hilt that felt ancient, even older than the Darksaber had when he was using it. 

Twin red blades ignited at the entrance on the far wall, and a familiar Zabrak walked in, albeit with organic legs instead of robotic. If he was going to be honest, Maul was pretty short before he got his legs chopped off, and definitely very short just after he got them cut off. Ezra stifled a laugh as Valkorion stepped to the side. “Your purpose here is evident.”

“Is something funny, apprentice?” Maul demanded.

Ezra felt his anger well up inside him. After all Maul had done to him and his friends, he still believed Ezra to be his apprentice. His fists clenched, but he looked to the side to see Valkorion slightly shake his head at him, indicating to not rely on the dark. “You’re short,” Ezra replied as he turned back to Maul and raised his saber defensively. 

Maul growled in anger, apparently, he was as unstable now as he was on Tatooine. He lunged at Ezra, the aggressive form Maul was employing sapped Ezra’s energy quickly, even though he was using form III. Unfortunately, Maul didn’t seem to be tiring at all, knowing he would have to do something got survive, Ezra ducked the next swing Maul took at him and jabbed at his midsection. The younger, more arrogant Maul hadn’t been expecting the move and was caught on his flank, surprised by the pain, he lost focus. Ezra took the advantage and spun around, cutting Maul’s saber in half before making another jab directly into his chest. 

“Well done,” Maul said before dropping to the ground. Ezra looked down at the man who had caused so many problems, but when he did Maul’s corpse faded away.

“Good, you have passed the first stage,” Valkorion told him from the side. 

“First stage?” Ezra asked as he looked at the man.

Valkorion inclined his head at the same large entrance as before and Ezra turned towards it, hearing mechanical footsteps getting closer. “You’ll need them both,” Valkorion said. Ezra turned, and before he could ask what he meant, the older man tossed him Kanan’s lightsaber and took a few more steps back. 

Out of the tunnel came Maul, again. “Tall enough for you now, apprentice?” he asked as he walked closer on his mechanical legs. He ignited his red blades and Ezra ignited the second saber. He lunged at Maul, bringing the yellow blade down at Maul’s head. The Sith caught the strike with his blade and used his height and strength to his advantage, pressing the blades back down at Ezra. He swung Kanan’s lightsaber wildly at Maul’s midsection but was kicked in the chest extremely hard before it could make contact. Ezra stumbled but recovered and brought Kanan’s blade up to parry one of Maul’s strikes. Ezra made another jab with the blue saber, but his arm was caught by maul and squeezed unbearably hard. He dropped the lightsaber as his hand began to contort from the pain. Maul hit Ezra with his saber’s hilt, knocking him to the ground and making his head bounce off the hard floor. All Ezra could do was raise his hand to try and block the overhead slice from Maul as he squeezed his eyes shut. Knowing he had failed, Ezra tried to accept his death, but the end he was expecting never came. He opened his eyes slowly and lowered his hand to see Valkorion standing over him as he had Maul’s saber in his grip.

He threw the Zabrak away from them and called the sabers to his hands, activating them as they came to him. Ezra watched in awe as he began to spin around with the sabers, making low sweeps and high cuts, making Maul jump back on the defensive as the flurry of strikes batted his saber, and guard away. The Sith’s double bladed saber was hit hard by Kanan’s lightsaber and the yellow one was swung through Maul’s throat, sending his head toppling to the ground as his body went limp and fell. 

Valkorion looked at Ezra, his expression neutral. Ezra felt embarrassed by the display of skill and power that Valkorion had just put on display and looked away from him sheepishly. “The blades must be used in tandem,” he said informatively. 

Ezra looked back up to see Valkorion standing over him, both lightsabers extinguished and attached to his belt. He extended his hand to Ezra, pulling him off the ground when he accepted it. 

“You used the blades as if you were in two different fights simultaneously,” he explained as he gave Ezra Kanan’s saber. “They must be one.” Valkorion put a hand on Ezra’s back and led him out of the caves. “Practice, keep your mistakes in mind and learn from them, return for instruction, or testing when you believe you are ready.”

Ezra stepped out of the cave and looked turned to ask Valkorion another question, but when he did, the man had already vanished. Ezra looked off to the sunset, and turned towards his own house, walking to the small blip on the horizon that he inhabited.


	9. Chapter 9

**Day 245, 0 BBY**

Ezra had taken Valkorion’s suggestions to heart, now he was once again in the hold of the crashed cruiser looking for something that could help him train. He picked up a B2 battle droid hand and inspected the integrated dual blaster system, deciding he wanted to play with it later, he stuck it into a bag slung around his shoulder. He pushed more bits of junk over until he found an odd-looking staff attached to a crate. There were a few rows of these long crates and his curiosity was peaked. Ezra unlatched the crate and hefted the lid off the top, revealing a clone wars MagnaGuard. He jumped back in surprise; from what he had been told by Kanan, these things were extremely dangerous, and the separatist leaders used them as their personal guards during the war.

Ezra reached down and pressed what was an obviously added on power switch. The droid took a few seconds but hummed to life. It sat up and tracked Ezra’s movements as he slowly moved away. The droid let out a series of inquisitive beeps, which Ezra could begin to recognize.

“What?” he asked the droid as it stood.

{Is this unit designated for your command?} it repeated in the same inquisitive tone as before.

Ezra stood up a little straighter and cleared his throat as he looked at the droid. “Yes,” he said authoritatively. “You are my…”

{This unit has been changed from factory default to: Combat Sparring.}

“Yes, my sparring bot,” Ezra said, bluffing his way into the droid’s command structure.

{Understood,} the droid replied as it stood fully, towering over Ezra as it reached for it’s electrostaff. 

“Uh… Shut down. Cancel. Abort!” Ezra stammered out as it activated the staff and advanced on him. 

It accepted one of his commands and stopped its advance, holding the staff by its side and switching to standby mode. Ezra stepped past in carefully and began to move the lids on the other containers, each one containing a MagnaGuard with the same modifications. The last crate was filled with spare parts as well as a training saber. Ezra picked it up and began to move the crates towards his speeder bike. The trip was relatively short, his house only being a kilometer away helped. But he got back with his trailer and loaded up the droids, bringing them back to his new house and placing them under a small shelter he had built off to the side. 

Ezra walked into his house, excited at having a new sparring partner… or partners. He activated the holocron and began to switch through the lightsaber forms, finding the one that would best suit him in a dual wielding configuration. Settling on Ataru, Ezra looked at old recordings of Jedi using the Force for acrobatic maneuvers and moving almost faster than his eyes could track. The notes he had lying around on lightsaber combat helped him form the fundamentals of his new dual wielding style. 

Ezra walked back outside later that day, satisfied with his progression for the afternoon. He looked over to the mountains and noticed the snow caps were getting smaller and smaller every day, which probably had something to do with the trickle in the stream between the ship and his house. He began to cook and eat another one of the creatures that had tried to attack him already before going to bed for the night.

Waking up the next morning, he got into his same daily routine of getting dressed then going out to train. He looked up to the mountains as he walked outside and noticed that the snow caps had been reduced even further. But when he looked to the mountain, he thought he could see something moving against the blue-gray surface. Shrugging it off as a shadow, he began to walk himself through the lightsaber forms, focusing mostly on the Ataru dual wielding from yesterday’s reading.

Hours had gone by and he could feel himself tiring from the intense practice he had been getting in. Ezra sat down on the ground and looked up to the sky, only to find a shadow being cast over his face. He jerked his head around and was blinded by the intense light until whatever it was flew in front of the star. The large winged thing glided over the landscape seeming to circle Ezra as it flew overhead. Getting nervous, he started to run inside for protection, only to be met with a talon gripping the armor on his torso as he was pulled away from the ground and up into the atmosphere. 

He struggled against the creature but couldn’t contort himself enough to strike it with Kanan’s lightsaber and before he knew it, he was being dropped into a nest high in the mountains. After he was dropped, he got his first good look at the creature. It was huge, with a sharp beak and golden-brown feathers that lined the entire animal’s skin. The massive yellow legs were punctuated by razor sharp talons that scratched the surface of the rock as it moved towards him. All around him were massive eggs that he could only assume were for baby versions of this monster. He could tell from where he was standing that this spot had previously been covered by the snow that he could now tell was about the height of the cruiser he had been living in previously. 

Ezra did his best to connect with the creature, it gave momentary pause as it landed and cocked its head at him; and after a few seconds it reverted back to the predatory instincts and desire to feed the soon-to-hatch chicks in the nest. Ezra thought about drawing the lightsaber he had and ending the creature right there, but he could see the eggs in his peripheral vision. _”They deserve better than this.”_ He summoned the Force as best as he could, focusing on a rock hanging precariously above them; using his honed telekinesis abilities, he pulled the rock down, hoping to scare the creature off temporarily with the noise.

It was much larger than he first thought and was getting even larger as it plummeted to the ground. The creature took an apprehensive step back and watched the rock shatter against the ground with a thundering cracking that echoed through the mountains. Ezra turned around to see it still there, taking another step back from him. _”It worked, now just leave.”_ It flew away from the nest and Ezra smirked at his victory, but he began to notice flakes of snow falling around him. The amount of snow exponentially increased over the next few seconds until he heard a rumble. He looked directly above himself to see the snow atop the mountain beginning to slide down. Another rumble sounded and Ezra took off sprinting toward the edge of the nest. He jumped over the side as the snow above him fell over the edge, once again covering the nest before it filled up the area and flooded over the side. Using every bit of power he could muster, Ezra leapt out of the snow as his position began to get covered by the avalanche he had set off.

He moved over the snow with his Force assisted jump, and thankfully got to the tree-line halfway up the mountain. He clambered up one of the tall conifers and looked down while catching his breath as the snow slammed against the base of the tree and continued to flow around it in a deadly flood. His heavy breathing was soon hitched as he heard the base of the tree crack beneath him, and then cracked again, and again. He looked down to see the snow begin to shear the tree about halfway up its trunk. Time seemed to slow down as he watched the kinetic energy from the snow finish breaking his refuge in half, and the tree was sent toppling over into the still moving snow. By this point he was near the end of the snow, so he wasn’t in as much danger of being buried as he was before but riding a snapped tree down an avalanche was still precarious at best. Him and the trunk slid down the mountain at breakneck speeds as thy slid over the snow, Ezra did his best to avoid obstacles; guiding the log with the Force to avoid hitting anymore trees. He weaved in and out of patches of rock and trees for a few minutes before he slowly slid to a stop near the base of the mountain. 

He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked over the edge, in front of him was the cruiser he had been living in before. He jumped over the edge, cushioning his fall with the Force and began the long walk back to his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two short chapters this time. Next one will be out on monday


	10. Chapter 10

**Day 267, 0 BBY**

Sabine was finally beginning to think that Lothal’s defense system was up to the challenge. The TIE Defender factories had been repaired and were now producing the deadly fighters as quickly as they could. Of course, they wouldn’t be able to stand up to a full-scale invasion, but the few small scouting parties sent by the Empire wouldn’t be able to tell them that. With the lull in her duties, Sabine did what she spent most of her free time doing… Letting her thoughts wander to Ezra.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the holo communicator mounted on her desk started chiming. Sabine rolled her eyes and answered it, expecting another call to go and make sure the troops were performing to her standards, but she was surprised when her mother’s image manifested above the table. 

< Sabine. > Her greeting was very motherly in tone, and since they hadn’t talked since their last argument over her coming back to Krownest, Sabine was stuck wondering what her mother wanted.

< What is it, mother? I happen to be very busy, > she lied, hoping to just avoid talking to her altogether. 

< Well, there is a man from- >

< Not interested > Sabine declared, cutting her mother off mid-sentence.

< Sabine, you haven’t eve- >

< Don’t care… Stop pestering me with these. >

Ursa just chuckled, unamused at her daughter in response. < I don’t know why you insist on waiting for that Jedi boy. >  
Sabine cocked an eyebrow at her mother, < Sabine… He’s dead > Ursa said bluntly.

< No, he isn’t! > She shouted, shooting up from her seat and glaring at her mother. In her mind, Sabine was hoping the holo had tracked her movement so her mother wasn’t just looking at Sabine’s chest plate while she yelled. 

< So you are waiting for the Jedi boy? > Ursa demanded.

Sabine laughed at her mother. < Absolutely not. Ezra’s my best friend. He’s had my back when no one else did, he’s proved himself to me more times than anyone could hope to he’s my… > _“Osik… Maybe I am waiting for him.”_ Sabine stopped before she could say anything else. < Mother, I have to go. Don’t pester me with any more of these calls. >

Before Ursa could respond, Sabine ended the call and threw her head into her hands. “oh gods… I am waiting for him… How was it my mother of all people who showed me that?”  
Sabine abruptly stood and walked out of the office. She summoned a speeder and took off towards Ezra’s tower at maximum speed. She used her jet pack to fly up the ladder because the elevator always took too long for her liking. When she entered the main area of the apartment, she opened a closet filled with his old clothes. Sabine took out one of the jackets he liked to wear and held it close to her chest. Turning around, she realized just how long she had been waiting for his return. Everything that had been done for the apartment verified her newfound suspicions. Everything was designed for two people; the bed, the kitchen, the table… Sabine inwardly groaned at herself and wondered how she was always the last person to know about her own feelings.

“Stupid kriffing Jedi, always having to do this to everyone… Why couldn’t you just stay Ezra? Why did you have to leave me?”

Sabine’s eyes began to fill with water. Determined not to let herself cry, she dived into the bed face first, burying her face in the blankets that she still imagined she could smell him on. 

“Come back to me soon, Ezra.”

Sabine laid face down in the bed until she fell asleep, hours later she awoke in the same position to her wrist computer beeping incessantly. Another Imperial scouting party had been spotted in the system. “For you, Ezra,” she said to the air as she stood and ran towards the speeder so she could go join the defense group in her TIE Defender.


	11. Chapter 11

**Day 310, 0 BBY**

Ezra woke up and quickly got into his armor, attaching the lightsaber to his belt, he activated a few of the many MagnaGuards in the hold. The purple staffs crackled to life as the droids linked their targeting systems and closed in on Ezra systematically. His time with Valkorion had helped him hone his kills when dual wielding sabers and facing five of these deadly droids would at least be as hard as fighting half-droid Maul. He ignited Kanan’s saber and the practice saber as the first swing was directed at him. He redirected the attack, not daring to get into a fight of strength with a machine made to overpower its opponents. The staff was sent towards the floor as the droid recovered, but Ezra didn’t get to exploit the gap as the droid’s partner moved in to cover it. He felt danger from behind him via a warning from the Force and ducked a strike meant for his head. He jumped up and over a horizontal swing meant for his torso and was able to swing his sabers, hitting the droid in the head and the body, ending the practice sequence. 

Without its partner, the droid that had been covering it wouldn’t be able to properly defend. Ezra seized the opportunity and jumped clear over the droid to attack its flank. Before the droid could turn around to counter him, Ezra lunged forward with the assistance of the Force and jabbed it in the big red sensor in the middle of its body, shutting it down and leaving four more droids to deal with. He jumped to one side of the droids as they advanced, somersaulting and readying his sabers as he did so. He landed in a crouch and swept out the pair of lightsabers, scoring a hit at the droid’s knees and waist. He brought the second blade up in a vertical swipe and caught the droid in the chest, ending the sequence with that one too. 

_”Halfway there.”_

Wanting something interesting, Ezra decided to take out the droid that still had a partner to see if he could defend against two of them attacking on separate patterns. He lunged at one of them, knocking it back with a Force assisted kick before ducking and spinning on his heel with a saber extended, ending the partner-droid’s sequence as it went across the main wiring harness and severed its power source. Now in front of him were two independently attacking droids, and Ezra knew that his Ataru wouldn’t let him last very long, but still he allowed himself some defensive practice, using the blades to deflect strikes as they came in. Valkorion’s advice had helped him greatly, with the two blades it was much easier to exploit gaps and deflect, especially when you used each blade with the other in mind. Ezra could see now how Kanan defeated the Grand Inquisitor, and how Ahsoka made the others look like younglings. Coming back to the current fight, Ezra deflected an electrostaff into the torso of the other droid as it was swung at him. With the staff stuck, Ezra was able to swipe his two blades at the remaining droid, hitting the neck and waist, and ending the training program. 

With all the droids deactivated, the overall sequence ended, and they slowly stood and returned to the crates to slowly charge from solar power. Ezra smiled to himself before breaking into the ration packs and resting, deciding that later he would go to the caves again to fight the apparition of Maul. 

The sun was nearing the horizon when he finally got on the BARC speeder and crossed the plains. He powered it down and jumped into the hole that led to the cavern. When he came to the split, Valkorion was once again waiting for him. “Are you ready?” he asked simply.

Ezra’s heart swelled with determination as he nodded at the middle-aged man and followed him down the passageway to the large open cavern. He took away the training saber and handed Ezra the yellow lightsaber that he used the last time he was here. 

He heard Maul’s metal feet clanking against the ground as he came through the dark tunnel at the far end of the room. The twin red blades ignited and sent an eerie glow over Maul’s features and through the dust that floated in the room around him. “It appears the Padawan needs one final lesson,” Maul spit as he moved towards Ezra. 

Ezra lit his own pair of blades and didn’t wait for Maul to attack. He lunged forward at the Zabrak cutting high and low at the same time with two horizontal swipes. Maul caught the blades and Ezra used the opportunity to push off them and land a little way back. He went back in with a jab that Maul redirected, but the swipe with the other saber protected him when he left a gap in his defense. Ezra jumped over Maul, flipping through the air as he did, and went for a cut at his waist as he landed. Maul caught him in a blade lock, “That only worked once!” he growled as he pushed Ezra back. Maul went on the offensive and used his double-sided saber to great effect, hammering Ezra’s defense with rapid alternating swings. 

Ezra knew he wouldn’t last long under the barrage, so he preemptively blocked the other side while still holding the first, surprising Maul and getting him in a blade lock. Ezra kicked Maul in the chest, sending him staggering backwards as Ezra began another onslaught. The blur of bodily spins and saber strikes that Ezra had made himself into had pushed Maul to the back of the cavern as the Sith struggled to keep up with his speed. Maul made a desperate strike at Ezra just before he was back against a wall, forcing Ezra to jump back and allow him to recover. Maul wasted no time in charging Ezra jumping and bringing his saber down at the young man. Ezra slid to the side and held his sabers out, seeing Maul realize his mistake in slow motion as the yellow and blue blades sliced through his hilt and then his neck and torso, sending three separate pieces of Zabrak Sith lord toppling to the ground. 

Ezra stood up straight and allowed the Force to flow through him, replenishing his energy from the draining fight. The entire battle had only lasted minutes but Ataru was draining and could only work if he overpowered his enemy rapidly. “Well fought,” Valkorion congratulated from Ezra’s side. “But there is another test.” 

Ezra opened his eyes and before he had time to ask what it was, he heard mechanical breathing at the far end of the room. The single red blade revealed the Sith Lord that he had barely survived. “You’re scared… Good,” it said in a baritone voice as it walked towards him at a steady pace. Ezra tried to overwhelm him, but when he jumped at him, the true Sith Lord just batted him to the side with an incredibly powerful saber swing and Force push. Ezra impacted the wall next to Valkorion who just stood and watched. Groaning in pain, he stood as his body ached and trembled from the impact. When he fully recovered the Sith Lord was already upon him. 

Ezra caught the overhead chop with his sabers crossed as he tried to hold back Vader. Slowly but surely, his own blades were being pushed back under the immense strength and leverage that his opponent possessed. Ezra slid out of the way and retracted his sabers, making the Sith lose his balance momentarily and plunging his red blade into the ground. Ezra swung his blades together, but Vader just rolled his robotic wrist, Parrying the strikes while also sending debris from the slice in the floor at Ezra’s face. Ezra tried to charge again but was quickly repelled by the one-handed swings of Vader. The robotic Sith just seemed to spin his blade around effortlessly as he walked through Ezra’s attempts at both offensive strikes and defensive maneuvers. Ezra almost didn’t sense it when Vader called on the Force for a massive shove with his free hand, making Ezra hit the wall that was much closer this time. Valkorion once again caught what should have been a killing blow as he grabbed the hilt of Vader’s blade. 

He shoved his hand away and Vader slowly faded into the air. Another loss to a Force apparition for Ezra.

Ezra looked up at Valkorion, trying not to be ashamed by his defeat. “Perhaps he was too much,” Valkorion said quietly as he looked off in distant thought. “Maybe something easier.”

Ezra looked to where Valkorion was staring to see two bronze armored men with glowing-blue-eyed helmets, large metal staffs, and tall narrow shields. “The knights of Zakuul,” he explained as the men took matching stances. “They’re very well-trained Force sensitives that try to balance the Force. They are what you must seek to understand.”

Ezra stood and activated the twin sabers again as he took a read position.

“But not today,” Valkorion said as they too slowly dissipated into the surrounding air. “You’ve had enough practice for today, and you passed the second test. Well fought.”

Valkorion took the other saber from Ezra and slowly led him to the edge of the room. “You can either watch us fight or return to your dwelling, the choice is yours.” 

Without waiting for a response Valkorion walked towards the knights with the yellow saber ignited as they lit up the blue blades on the ends of their staffs. Ezra watched in rapt fascination as Valkorion moved gracefully around their swings and parries, looking as if his movements were choreographed. He noted the effectiveness of the high overhead swings, the knights couldn’t fully raise their shields due to the heavy plate they wore. Ezra watched him deactivate his saber and grab the staff from one of the knights, spinning it around and taking off the knight’s head before he turned and attacked the other one, clanging the staff against the other knight’s staff and shield before dropping it and spinning under a strike, wrapping his arm around the back of the knight’s neck as he pulled his head down, and pulled himself closer to the knight’s body. Before Ezra could figure out what he was doing the hilt was brough up and quickly activated and then deactivated, burning a hole clean through his opponent’s helmet and head.

Valkorion dropped the body and turned back to Ezra, looking prideful in his own combat abilities. “Never be afraid to use anything at your disposal to finish the fight,” he instructed. “Everything around you is a weapon to suit _your_ purposes, even your opponent’s.“ Ezra looked at the older man curiously. “Use the environment. Throw rocks and trees, even your dead enemy’s corpses can be used to give you an edge. All you need to do is figure out how to execute the proper maneuvers.” 

“Could I have done anything when I was fighting Vader?” Ezra asked with his curiosity peaked. 

His instructor stood for a few moments as he silently considered the question and fight. “The one called Vader is mostly robotic. If you use Makashi or Niman then you can utilize the Force much more effectively. If you surprised him and defied convention, you may be able to change a setting on the panel on his chest piece. Or consider his guard… He focuses his defensive maneuvers around his chest. Aim for the extremities and you should be able to beat his defenses.”

Ezra was mystified at the man’s affinity for lightsaber combat. Not even Ahsoka could analyze and understand fights as fast as he had. “You got all that from the ten seconds that I actually had him on the defensive?” Ezra asked.

The man nodded once. “I was known as one of the greatest warriors in my time. Admired for my prowess as well as my rule of Zakuul… But that was before Vitiate,” he finished bitterly. “Consider what you have learned, practice it, and when you feel that you’re ready, then return to me for the next step.”

Eager to please Valkorion, Ezra walked out of the room and towards his home, not noticing that Valkorion had faded into the air like the other combatants.


	12. Chapter 12

**Day 330, 0 BBY**

Ezra was incredibly proud of himself as of late; not only did he improve overall regarding lightsaber combat, but he also became well versed in exploiting weaknesses. The MagnaGuards he sparred with daily had more than their default programming to work with. Stored in their databanks was analytics of the most talented Jedi Masters and Sith Lords right up until the clone war. 

Right now, he found himself fighting someone called Satele Shan and a man called Revan from the Jedi archive. He found the exploits and legends of both the Jedi and Sith to put the modern Jedi and even Maul to shame. He was unsure of how much of what he was reading was true, but there were stories of Sith consuming entire planets, and Jedi being able to stop lightsaber strikes with their bare hands. In truth, he enjoyed fighting the best duelists in history, although he found himself to be less than adequate to fight Exar Kun and most of the other Sith leaders from their time as a domineering faction.

Ezra parried a strike running the Revan program and slashed at Satele. He thought back to Valkorion’s advice on exploiting weaknesses. They were just too powerful to defeat in regular combat, Ezra recognized Satele and Revan’s use of form VI and thought about its merits. Niman was a combination of multiple forms, relying on the defense of form III agility of form IV as well as the easy use of force ability granted by using form II. Although it was a perfect balance between the three and had no overt weaknesses, it also had no strengths. Ezra knew the sparring programs were in depth enough to take into account the user’s energy drain, meaning the droids wouldn’t last until their own reserves ran dry, but instead they ran out of energy when the practitioner they were mimicking would. With that in mind, he decided to switch to the energy conserving form III while they wasted their energy using the agility required for form IV. 

Ezra redirected another strike from Shan. The droid was beginning to noticeably slow down as he dragged the fight on. He took a few steps back, saving his energy even more rather than expending it on a block. The Revan droid swung its electrostaff at him and he ducked underneath the strike before blocking a downward slice from the droid as it flipped over him. 

He used both his sabers to great affect in his slightly modified form III. And when the droids noticeably slowed even more, he took his opportunity to strike. He lunged forward, catching a swing from the Shan droid as he hit its midsection with a jab. He pushed back and it dropped to the ground, its simulation finished with the mimicked practitioner’s death. He swung one blade overhead at Revan, forcing the droid to bring up its staff for a block. Ezra brought his saber to the side for the kill, but the lock was broken, and the staff deflected what would have been a killing blow. The droid started the alternating swings that Maul had used, rotating the electrostaff in his hands as he advanced, creating a deadly whirlwind of purple electricity and cortosis. Ezra was falling into an aggressive attack pattern, but quickly stopped himself when he realized that the droid was still using the Soresu defense. Instead, he let the droid come at him again with another jab, choosing to lock the blades as he made his own into the neck of the droid, ending the final program. 

Ezra stepped back and wiped the sweat that had been appearing on his forehead as he examined his handiwork. According to the history he had read, those two were extremely talented duelists and Ezra knew the only reason he had won was the fact that they couldn’t use the Force, as such, their true abilities and strengths were somewhat muted. Still, he couldn’t discount his progression, he had gone from a kid thinking a lightsaber was a toy to a skilled fighter in just four years of training. It took most Jedi learners more than ten to be at his level with a lightsaber, but he figured his quick learning from life as a Loth-rat had something to do with that. He clipped the now deactivated saber and training saber onto his belt before moving into the storage room, uncovering a barrel of water, and taking a long drink. 

_”Back to Valkorion.”_

Ezra rested for a few minutes, allowing his connection to the Force to replenish his energy reserves before he got on his speeder and moved over the swaying grass by the light of the sunset towards the caves. He jumped down into the hole and walked into the caves. “Valkorion?!” he called out when the man didn’t meet him at the entrance. Ezra felt something looking at his back and turned to see the middle-aged man staring at him, with a twinge of humor hidden behind his gray eyes and neutral expression. “Wha- How- Where di-?”

“That’s not important,” he said evenly, stopping Ezra’s surprised stammering. Ezra clamped his mouth shut and thought about asking again but quickly thought better of it. 

“Ready to begin?” the man asked as he placed a hand on Ezra’s back and began to guide him down one of the caves without waiting for him to answer. 

Ezra followed the man’s direction wordlessly, allowing himself to be taken to the training room. Instead of the usual non-descript stone cavern, they were standing in an open durasteel room with a transparisteel window on the far wall, allowing a view into empty space. Ezra looked around and saw a throne raised at the far end with two Knights of Zakuul clad in white armor instead of bronze flanking the symbol of authority. He looked back at Valkorion and saw his expression instantly twinge with regret and sorrow before he forced his face to be neutral once again. “What is this place?” Ezra asked him.

“This… This is the Eternal Throne. I was forced to watch from here in my own body for one-thousand years as Vitiate led my people to ruin. And I couldn’t do a thing about it.” Valkorion took a step towards the throne but stopped in his tracks. “I was so glad when Arcann killed my corporeal form. After all those years I was set free from Vitiate’s imprisonment.” He unclipped his lightsaber from his armor and handed it to Ezra. “There is your challenge for today,” he said as he gestured towards the throne with his left hand. “A pair of knights. Do you remember what to do?”

Ezra nodded once in affirmation before turning to face his opponents. “Strike high, block mid,” he replied as he started to walk forwards.

“Good, now show me,” he ordered as Ezra ignited the sabers as the knights activated their staffs.

Ezra picked up his speed to a steady jog as he made his way towards them before turning it into a full-on sprint. He jumped high into the air as he got closer, using his momentum to propel him forward and over the heads of the guards. He swung the two blades down at the first one who stumbled to avoid the strike but was swiftly attacked by the cortosis weaved staff of the second knight. Ezra blocked high and low as the two ends of the staff were directed towards his body. He took a swing, but his saber was deflected by the shield. By now the other knight had recovered and was moving to his flank while Ezra continued to lose ground to the one he was currently fighting. The knight moved in to join his team member for a coordinated attack on the young Jedi. Ezra jumped over the simultaneous attacks at his body and swung his sabers out at their heads as he rotated in the air. One of their helmets was caught with a glancing blow, making the knight stagger backwards as his hands moved to his face. The other managed to bring his shield up in time to avoid the same punishment, but he too was soon subject to Ezra’s advance. 

He could sense the other knight coming from behind him, so without looking, he threw the yellow saber at him, freeing up his hand to Force push the one he was engaged with into the throne. “Good!” he heard Valkorion yell from the sides before he saw the knight deflect the yellow blade, deactivating the saber as it was sent off to the side. Ezra called the saber back to him, activating it as it flew towards the advancing man. The exposed eye behind his helmet went wide as he realized what Ezra was doing, but he wasn’t quick enough to correct his mistake, instead, he was bisected by the spinning lightsaber as it was guided back into Ezra’s outstretched hand.

He gripped the saber firmly and faced the other knight who was currently recovering. Ezra started to walk towards him, ready to use the aggression and agility of form IV to defeat his opponent. The man activated the blue lightsaber blade at the end of his staff as he threw his shield to the side. Ezra jumped into his guard, spinning through the distance between them with Kanan’s saber leading the way. The knight batted it to the side and brought the side of the staff around, hitting Ezra in his exposed flank. Ezra didn’t give the man a chance to strike again as he brought his right hand up to defend his midsection while he swung the other blade over the top of his opponent’s head. The knight brought his saber blade up and deflected the blow, allowing Ezra to kick him in a gap between his armor plates. He grunted in pain or frustration, Ezra really couldn’t tell, as the man made a particularly hard swing at the saber around Ezra’s midsection. Ezra caught the blue blade with his own, but it was slowly being pushed into him by the superior strength of his opponent. 

Taking a move from Valkorion’s playbook, Ezra deactivated the yellow saber and began to use the hilt as a melee weapon, confusing the guard temporarily as the blunt object was smashed against his plate repeatedly, too close for him to properly block in the armor. Ezra hit the visor of the knight’s helmet with the bottom end of the saber, snapping his head back before Ezra flipped it around and activated it, sending the plasma blade into the man’s throat and down into his body. The second man dropped to the floor as he turned to see Valkorion with the faintest of smiles on his face. The smile quickly dropped, and his eyes got slightly wider. “One more,” he said absently as Vader appeared again.

Ezra ducked beneath a two-handed swing meant to sever his head and rolled away before the red blade could come back around and hit him while he was vulnerable. He jumped back as the blade was brought down on him and staggered backwards as Vader’s onslaught continued. Ezra made a swing at him with was parried at met with a counterattack that continued to send Ezra back. Remembering Vader’s weakness, he started to make swipes at the Sith Lord’s feet. The twin blades were getting deflected more and more as he shifted his guard to his lower section. Ezra smirked internally as he deactivated Kanan’s lightsaber and pushing himself towards Vader with a blade lock at their feet. He pushed the emitter against the control panel on Vader’s chest and activated it before he could react, sending Kanan’s lightsaber through his life support and chest. The Vader apparition slowly fell and faded like the knights did. 

“Well done, very well done, Ezra,” Valkorion congratulated as he came from the far end of the room. He led Ezra to the window looking out across the expansive Eternal Empire with a hand between his shoulders. “I think you have mastered the aspects of dual wielding. Wouldn’t you say my boy?” The pride in Valkorion’s voice didn’t go unnoticed, but then again, from what the man had told him of his life, Ezra didn’t think he got to raise his own sons, instead he was forced to watch and evil man raise them in the worst way possible. 

“I’m not sure I’ve become good enough…” Ezra replied.

“Don’t be so modest, Ezra,” the man said proudly as he looked down at him. “Now is not the time for Jedi humility, after all you did just pass the Force’s challenge.”  
“But that was nowhere near as powerful as Vader is. When you’re near him, you can feel the temperature drop, you can feel his anger and his hatred. It’s horrifying.”  
Valkorion chuckled for a moment. “You know, the Sith of my time were much more powerful than this Vader is… The Sith had knowledge lost to them over time that would make these two ‘Dark Lords’ look like little more than talented apprentices.”

“But the Jedi did too. In the holocron, it says things about Force healing and a Jedi master who could stop lightsaber blades with her bare hands.”

Valkorion looked down to him and his expression sobered. “Yes, that may be true. However, that knowledge is lost only because you deem it so. And Vader is only horrifying because you have decided to be fearful of his power.”

“What do you mean?” Ezra asked as thoughts raced through his head about using abilities he thought to be impossible. 

“I mean, anything is possible with the Force as your ally. And the Sith feed off your fear, hate, and anger. Its how they get their power,” Valkorion explained as Ezra listened with rapt fascination. “You know the Jedi tenants, you know how they use their power, use that power to do what must be done, knowing it is possible if it is the will of the Force; then, you will find that knowledge to not be lost.”

That was a lot for Ezra to take in. Not only was he told that the incredible stories he read were completely true, but he was told that he too was capable of that power. And Vader was only stronger because Ezra allowed his own fear to control him. Valkorion continued to look down at him as Ezra thought. Looking back up at the man Ezra smiled, feeling like he had a master, a mentor, and a father figure for the first time since Kanan died. “What happens now?” he asked the former ruler. 

“Now we train you with a double-bladed lightsaber. You’re already more than proficient with a single blade as well as dual wielding blades.”

Ezra bowed his head at Valkorion. “When can we begin?” he asked him as he inclined his head.

“You are eager… We can begin with basic instruction today.” Valkorion gently grabbed the yellow lightsaber and Ezra released it, letting the older man take it from his grasp. He reached behind him and pulled when he brought his hand back around, he had a large double-bladed saber hilt in his hands. He held it out as an offering to Ezra.

_”Whoa… Where did he get this?”_

Ezra took the hilt from Valkorion’s open palm and inspected it for himself. The silver-gray swirling patterns on the hilt went all the way down its length to the end of the handle. The diameter shrunk substantially at the end of the hilt but was increased shortly after the drop off with a wide and long emitter; the emitter itself was connected to the hilt on both sides by the narrow core and what looked like supports coming from the edge of the hilt, becoming more pronounced as they went up the length of the emitter. There were ports going up the length of the emitter, all the way to the smooth curl at the end of the saber. “That is the lightsaber used by Master Satele Shan during the conquest of Alderaan. Lots of battles have been determined by the strength of that blade’s wielder. History has been made with that weapon; the entire fate of the galaxy hinged on its effectiveness more than once. Now, you must master it too,” Valkorion told him, tearing him away from his observations.

“Where did you get it?” Ezra asked as he clipped Kanan’s saber to his belt. This, for him, was absolutely incredible. For all the reading he had done, Satele Shan had intrigued him the most. The once-grandmaster was one he seemed to always find when reading about the most important battles of that time. And he was holding her lightsaber.

“The ‘where’ is not important… Tell me what you think,” Valkorion ordered as Ezra continued to look at it. 

“Well, the history made with this is incredible, I’m honored to hold it.”

Valkorion let out a short chuckle. “No, Ezra. How does it feel? Is it too heavy? Light? Off balance?”

“Oh,” Ezra said sheepishly as he felt the blood rushing to his face at the embarrassment. “It’s a little long, I guess.”

“Good… Good. Can you tell me why its like that?” He encouraged, seeing Ezra deep in thought.

“Uhm, personal preference?” he asked nervously. He looked up at Valkorion and saw the slight smirk on his face. “No, wait…” Ezra paused and swung the saber around, adjusting his grip on the hilt as he took different positions with it. “Leverage…” he said after a few moments. He looked back up at Valkorion who inclined his head, indicating that Ezra was on the right track. “She could use the length to change her strength during blade locks like that… And if she used one side, she could grip it low to give herself more momentum with her swings.”

“Yes!” Valkorion said proudly. “But do you like it? Is it how you would have made yours?”

Ezra thought for a moment as he swung the blade around again, brows furrowing as he went through the movements of the different forms. “No,” he stated simply. “I don’t like the balance. And I don’t think I’ll need the same leverage that she would. If I made my own, I would make it shorter.”

“Good, now let’s go over the basics.” 

Valkorion began teaching Ezra the concepts of saberstaffs and their advantages as the sun slowly set above the caverns.


	13. Chapter 13

**Day 367, 0 BBY**

Over the unknown amount of time Ezra had spent on his new home, he had made his situation somewhat comfortable. He had stripped out most of the components in the cruiser and moved them into his new house. He had expanded his connection with the Force through near constant use of telekinesis and precognition as well as his training with Valkorion. A few more close encounters with them had forced him to adapt and turn the ARC gauntlet into a holdout blaster using the weapons systems from a B2 battle droid and two of the Kyber crystals. 

Now he was moving through his house in the early morning, donning the now-better fitting body suit and set of clone armor before heading outside to keep himself busy. Ezra looked over the small farm and barn he had built shortly after his house. The star rising over the eastern horizon sent a bright yellow light against his piercing blue eyes and started to obscure his vison. He squinted his eyes shut as the light became too much to bear, but when he did he was greeted by a darkened sky and a massive green beam impacting a desert landscape, peeling back the horizon as thousands of screams arose and were silenced in the Force. 

Hours later he experienced the same thing on a smaller scale as an ocean was blown away by the same type of beam, eventually vaporizing a small archipelago and everything on it. Ezra gripped the sides of his head and furiously rubbed the space between his temples and eyes to alleviate his growing headache. The death he felt had to have been his imagination, there was no way anyone could have the power of destruction on that scale.

However, his worst fears were confirmed that afternoon. As he opened his connection to the Force looking for answers he felt the worst pain imaginable as he sensed billions die to the same weapon. 

Ezra fainted in the center of his house and was quickly greeted by a vision of a sorrowful Master Yoda. The old green Jedi looked at him with a new sadness in his dark eyes. “Much fear in our galaxy, young one.” The old master greeted. “Much to face, you still have.”

Before Ezra could ask what he was talking about, a glowing blue Master Kenobi joined them in their conversation. “You’re a long way from home, Ezra Bridger.” Kenobi stated as a call back to their first conversation. 

“Masters? What happened?” Ezra asked confusedly.

“Well… I died,” Kenobi deadpanned.

Yoda let out a soft chuckle at what Ezra assumed was his own shocked expression. “There is no death, only the Force,” he said mimicking the Jedi code as he waved his small clawed hand in front of Ezra’s face. “The young are always shocked, not believing in the power of the Force. Always thinking things to be impossible,” Yoda said in a mock condescending tone while jabbing Ezra’s legs with his cane.

“Okay… B-But what did I feel earlier?” 

Both of their expressions fell, and grief enveloped their wrinkled faces. “The Empire… the Empire released a new weapon capable of destruction on an unimaginable scale. What you felt was the horrifying deaths of many beings. The last one you felt was Alderaan as it was destroyed.”

“Destroyed? Like the entire planet?” Ezra asked in a tone that suggested that the old man was being ridiculous.

Kenobi solemnly nodded as he met Ezra’s gaze.

“That’s not possible… The couldn’t… they wouldn’t,” Ezra stuttered out as he took a step back in the realm they were meeting in. The two masters didn’t change their expressions as Ezra tried to come to terms with what the Empire had done. 

“A plan to save the galaxy, we have. But you,” Yoda started as he jabbed Ezra’s leg with his cane, “must stay here. We will call upon you when the time is right.” 

“Y-yes master.”

“We have the son of Anakin Skywalker ready to join the rebellion and put an end to the Empire. In case he fails, you are the contingency Ezra,” Kenobi explained. 

“Kneel,” Yoda ordered simply. 

Ezra dropped to his knees slowly as Yoda held his cane like a lightsaber. “By the right of the Council,” he started as he rested his cane on his right shoulder, the weight of his responsibility making the small stick feel hundreds of times heavier than it really was, “by the will of the Force,” he continued as the cane found his left, and then moved to the top of his head, “Ezra Bridger, You may rise,” he said slowly and in the right order. Ezra stood slowly. “Congratulations, young Bridger.”

“What does this mean?” Ezra asked hopefully.

“You have completed your great trials, and most of Valkorion’s tests, Ezra Bridger. Master Yoda has just made you a Jedi Knight,” Kenobi explained.

“You must expand your knowledge of the Force if you are to defeat the Dark Side. This is a path a few have truly walked in recent times; those that have were the greatest masters of the Force. You have plenty of time, so know you must train with every spare moment you have, Valkorion and that holocron should be sufficient, but we will be here to guide you. But you must be wary of his methodology, not all of it was what we might call… ethical.”

“May the Force be with you.” Yoda’s disembodied voice echoed as Ezra’s eyes opened to the rising moon. 

_“Have I been meditating all day? How did they know about the holocron? How did they know about Valkorion?!”_

Ezra walked into what was currently serving as a bedroom and pushed the small sack of Kyber crystals out of the way to grab the Jedi holocron. Kneeling and finding his center, Ezra heard the subtle clicking and shifting sounds of the mechanisms getting to work. He remembered the notes pertaining to balance he had seen earlier on in his explorations of the holocron and opened them to study. 

The entire philosophy he was looking at was surprising to find on anything Jedi. It seemed to suggest that using what Jedi considered as ‘Dark Side Abilities’ without Dark emotions wasn’t actually a Dark act. According to what he was reading what mattered more than the result was the feeling used to produce them. This seemed to also line up with what Valkorion told him of his home before Vitiate took over and what Ashoka practiced, she was never afraid of everything that seemed Dark like Kanan was. Most of the time she was willing to explain how she felt about her ability, and her potential. 

The information he found suggested the use of more intense emotions such as passion but stressed the importance of using them in a way conducive to the philosophy of the first Jedi. Ezra dug further into the information stored on the holocron and found an image of the mysterious one that he had found in the ship. He accessed the archive data on it and discovered its true purpose. Much to his relief, he wasn’t going to damn the galaxy to an eon of suffering if he opened it, but he did need to use an insane amount of emotional power to open it, a level of power nobody ever thought possible without being seduced by the dark. 

Ezra thought back to the immense power wielded by Bendu back on Atollon. The creature had willed himself into becoming a living storm which had destroyed the Imperial advance and almost his friends. If he could somehow gain that power without falling to the Dark, then the Empire didn’t stand a chance. The detailed notes on the Jedi holocron walked him through the meditation training required to master the balance of the two sides of the Force.

After hours of intense concentration, Ezra heard a deep whirring-like-growl similar to the one from the doors of the Sith temple on Malachor that he had opened with Maul, but at the same time he felt the serenity of the Light side washing over him. Every single Dark side aspect he felt as the Holocron opened was overpowered by its counter from the Light. The cold was met with warmth, anger with forgiveness, fear with hope. The bright-blue glow illuminated the ramshackle walls of his house and cast his shadow against the door frame. 

A flat, neutral voice emanated from the Holocron as the separating pieces floated into place around him. “What do you seek?” It asked out of seemingly the space around him.

“I-I want to know of your Force practices,” Ezra replied to the female voice.

“And what makes you think you would accept my advice?” Its tone had no malice or mirth, just a pure curiosity in his opinion. “The last Jedi I had encountered accused me of trying to manipulate him into falling to the Dark side.”

“Well… I need to know how to keep everyone safe. I need to learn how to beat the Sith and the Inquisitors. My master… My master died and I don’t know what to do, he was the only one who could fight with me. He was always there to help me against the Empire, but now I’m alone… again,” Ezra finished sadly.

“Your fears of more loss are well founded. However, you must have hope that you can learn to understand the ways of the Force. Only the Dark motivation of fear and the Light of hope can push you where you need to be while keeping you on the right path. To truly master the ways of the Force you must understand that the taboos of the Dark side are not inherently evil like your masters may have told you. No one action is inherently evil, only your previous and future actions as well as your intentions can determine what kind of person you will become.”

Ezra had never thought of the Force in that way. All Kanan’s teachings revolved around the ‘Light good, Dark bad’ approach that the old order had used. Now, he realized, the fear of abilities not commonly used by the Jedi had lead them to lose the knowledge entirely. He understood what needed to be done and he wasn’t going to fail them.

Ezra stood from his kneeling position. The masters said that Valkorion could teach him, so that’s what he was going to do. He looked out over the plains and saw the wolf-like creature that had originally called him there beckoning his return. “Okay, okay. I’m coming, just hold on.”

Ezra grabbed a bedroll, provisions, and water, not knowing how long he would be training with Valkorion but was determined to see it through. He hefted the load onto the BARC speeder and zoomed towards the cave entrance, eager to show his new master what he had learned on double-bladed fighting. 

Upon coming to the depression, he killed the power and all but jumped into the hole, finding Valkorion waiting for him at the entrance like usual. “Are you ready?” he asked in his deep voice.

“Yes,” Ezra replied as he dropped all the items he was carrying, save for Kanan’s lightsaber. He followed Valkorion through the tunnels back into the throne room from before. Like usual, the lightsaber was taken from Ezra, and he was handed a new one, though this one was shorter than Satele’s but longer than his. He activated the blades and they came out in a piercing cyan glow. “Who’s is this?” 

Valkorion shrugged and looked at Ezra apologetically. “I’m not sure,” he explained. 

Ezra took the lightsaber and started walking to the far end of the room with the blade casting a blue glow to the otherwise unlit space. Everywhere around him, he could sense presences coming in and fading away as his eyes darted around, trying to see the individuals. He faced forward again, only stopping when he heard a lightsaber activating behind him. He turned around to face the Grand Inquisitor with the same lightsaber he had when he was hunting the _Ghost_ around the galaxy. From his left, right, and front came three more blades, revealing the Inquisitors who had met their ends on Malachor. Ezra gasped as he realized he was suddenly surrounded, only realizing the situation was far worse than he thought when he heard the mechanical breathing of Vader. 

Another pair of red blades were ignited side by side, casting the glow of the sabers onto Vader and a man he didn’t recognize. Ezra second cyan blade on his saber and prepared for a fight. Choosing Niman, he got into his ready position and prepared to use the stylized defense that it offered.

The first one to strike out was the reptilian Inquisitor that he had only seen once. He lit the other side of his lightsaber as he charged Ezra. Instead of using his own lightsaber and parrying his strike, Ezra reached out and grabbed the Inquisitor when he got close, yanking him forward and rolling the reptilian over his own back. Ezra took advantage of the Inquisitor’s fumble and lit his saber as the man rolled over him, putting a slash into his back as he came over the other side. The inquisitor recovered as he stumbled forward, surviving the wound Ezra had just given him. Ezra felt something coming up behind him and spun around, bringing his saber up for defense. His cyan blade deflected the lightsaber thrown by the Grand Inquisitor, sending the blade spinning through the air before the Inquisitor called it back to him with the Force. Ezra could only turn around quick enough to deflect the strike coming from the Seventh Sister and jumping over the one from the Fifth Brother. 

Choosing to engage the weakest of his adversaries, he attacked the reptilian Inquisitor, spinning out with his blade and hitting his with rapid strikes, forcing his guard lower before he brought his own up and pierced the man’s chin with it. His body toppled to the floor lifelessly as the rest of the Inquisitors snarled in anger. Again the trio attacked him simultaneously; Ezra instinctually twisted the hilt of the saber, disconnecting the two sides and bringing them to either side of him as he deflected the first strikes from the Fifth Brother and Seventh Sister while dodging the advances from the Grand Inquisitor. 

As he jumped back from another strike and redirected one from the Fifth Brother, Ezra felt the urge to jump to one side. He followed his instinct and slid to his left, catching a glimpse of a red blade slicing down where he just was. The blade was brought back around, and Ezra ducked the strike, giving ground as everyone advanced on him. He was nearly pushed back against the wall, but he did what he’d seen Valkorion do a few times before and slammed into one of the Inquisitors after they missed their strike. 

The sound of his own plastoid armor impacting the Seventh Sister’s chest plate seemed to drown out everything else in the room. Ezra took the opening he had just made and thrusted his saber through the center of her chest and bringing it across to cut through half her body. Her corpse hit the ground just before her lightsaber clattered against the stone and both faded away as they settled. He quickly took advantage of their shock and attacked the Grand Inquisitor, knowing how he was defeated already. He pushed him back hard as he brought his two sabers around and methodically attacked his red blades, waiting for the same opening Kanan got. 

When the Inquisitor brought both his blades up and activated the spinning function, Ezra took his lightsabers and stuck them into the hilt the same way Kanan had years ago. He brought the two lightsabers in separate directions and cut the hilt into two pieces before he brough the one in his right hand back around and slashed at the Grand Inquisitor’s throat.

By the time the Grand Inquisitor dropped, Ezra was on the defensive again. The Fifth Brother charged Ezra, using his superior size to his advantage as he pushed the young Jedi back. The one he didn’t know and Vader soon joined the fray and all Ezra could do was give ground and block as he was pushed towards the wall. He deflected an overhead slash from Vader and redirected a sideswipe from who he assumed was some sort of new inquisitor but left an opening for the Fifth Brother. Ezra narrowly avoided the saber thrust as he darted to the left, favoring a strength bout with the other young man as opposed to Vader. He kept his blades locked with the blonde and slowly pushed him back. When he was far enough from the wall, Ezra allowed one of his own blades to slide down the new Inquisitor’s and cut off his hands. Ezra forced pushed him off an edge near the throne and turned to focus on the other two. 

Just as his head was brought around, Ezra saw a flash of red being sent directly at his face. He rolled to his right in time to see an infuriated Vader strike the spot he had just occupied, slicing into the floor, and superheating it. Vader ripped his saber from the ground and moved towards Ezra. His first strike was caught by Ezra, but the young man knew he wouldn’t be able to stand up to the strength of the Sith Lord in a slugging match. Ezra once again gave ground while doing his best to redirect strikes until he was forced into the far wall by the apparition of Vader. As their blades locked once again, Ezra watched in horror as his own blade was being pushed directly at his eyes. Ezra ducked and slid as he withdrew his blade, once again sending Vader’s into the space he had just occupied.

Ezra stopped and sprung off the wall towards the Fifth Brother, his blue sabers in front of him as he spiraled through the air. The inquisitor barely had enough time to raise his own lightsaber as he contacted Ezra’s. Using his strength, the Fifth Brother threw Ezra away by forcing his blades back towards him. Ezra didn’t give him a chance to exploit the move as he reassembled his double-bladed lightsaber and went back on the offensive using Niman. 

He lunged at the Inquisitor, hitting the man’s double-bladed lightsaber with his own in a flurry of attacks. Ezra spun his own blade around the Inquisitor’s and pulled it away from the man’s body as he sidestepped his counterattack; not waiting for the Inquisitor to recover, Ezra lashed his own saber across his opponent’s stomach. Ezra watched the Inquisitor’s face contort in pain as he dropped to his knees and fell forward, fading into nothing as he hit the ground. 

All that was left was Vader. Ezra extinguished one side of his Saber and readied himself in the form V stance. He brought his blade down on Vader before quickly withdrawing it. He waited for Vader’s attack patiently, allowing the Sith to take his time. When his opponent brought his Saber down at Ezra, he redirected the momentum of the strike and counterattacked, slashing his control panel, and wrecking the life support functions. 

The room was noticeably dimmer with only his lightsaber still active. In front of him, he could just see Vader on his hands and knees as he wheezed with his lightsaber still in his right hand. Ezra heard a footstep and looked up at a pair of yellow eyes glowing through the darkened room. The man moved in slow, deliberate steps through the darkness. Ezra knew the apparitions weren’t as strong in the Force as the individuals they were supposed to be representing, but even the one moving towards him felt almost as cold and unforgiving as Vader had when he chased the Spectres off Lothal. He paused just a step behind the wheezing Vader, looking down at the weakened Sith. “Failure,” was all he said in a voice that sounded eerily like Valkorion’s if not more clinical and colder. His right hand outstretched and Vader’s lightsaber was activated as it flew towards the new opponent’s hand, decapitating Vader on the way. 

With the red blade now in the opponent’s grasp, Ezra could see that it was Valkorion, or at least his body. He snapped his head around to see Valkorion still standing behind him, but now he had a scowl on his face. “Vitiate,” he said simply although Ezra wasn’t sure if it was an explanation for him or an upset greeting for the Sith. The imposter didn’t react and instead he moved towards Ezra with the lightsaber in one hand. Ezra raised his saber, preparing for an attack from his much more powerful opponent. He noticed his own hands shifting on the hilt nervously as Vitiate closed the distance. When Ezra expected him to strike, he just raised his hand and sent out a powerful storm of Force lightning.

Ezra screamed in pain as the electricity surged through his body. Faintly he could hear Valkorion calling to him, but he couldn’t make out what the man was telling him. Finally, Vitiate stopped to take a brief break from the taxing use of the Force. “Ezra! Keep your blade _up_!” Valkorion yelled from the side

Ezra understood just in time and raised the cyan saber in front of him as another attack came at him. He wasn’t hit by the lightning, but he could still feel its power as it crackled against the blade, making his hilt vibrate violently in his hands. Vitiate expressed his frustration in a low growl as he closed the distance more. When he was within proper striking distance, he stopped the lightning for a few seconds to swing at Ezra with the red saber. Ezra deflected the blow, but before he could counterattack, Vitiate supplemented his guard with a shot of Force lightning, once again forcing Ezra to raise his blade and absorb it. 

The Sith brought a diagonal slash down at Ezra as he once again stopped firing lightning. Ezra parried the strike and was able to respond with a jab that was batted away. More lightning erupted from the Sith’s fingertips and Ezra disconnected the two sides of his lightsaber to keep one blocking and one attacking. Ezra swung out, catching Valkorion off guard and forcing him to be on the defensive for the first time throughout the fight. Ezra closed the distance, moving around with as much attention to his footwork as possible. He knew that he would need to be in a better position for dueling if he was going to survive, so he decided to switch his form up and rely on Makashi. 

It was almost like he was dancing as he spun around the man, alternating between heels and toes on either foot as he kept himself moving, leaning in briefly to strike before quickly moving back to avoid the counterattack. Ezra made light cuts and slashes at Vitiate as he searched for an opening; his graceful footwork keeping him safe from blade locks and strength bouts. The fight went on much in the same way for a few minutes, Vitiate being pushed back until he could attack Ezra with lightning, forcing the young man to go on the defensive and Ezra exploiting something to Force Vitiate back onto the defensive. 

After numerous exchanges, Ezra had Vitiate against the wall once again. The Sith, as expected, used another torrent of lightning to give himself maneuvering room, but when he did Ezra noticed a glaringly obvious gap in his defense. Ezra allowed himself to be pushed back by the hard, deliberate strikes dealt by Vitiate. He counterattacked and began the cycle of him on the offensive, making light slashes all around his opponent, goading him into leaving an opening. With that not working, he decided to take a risk. Ezra left a deliberate opening in his defenses, hoping his enemy would take advantage, which he did. Ezra jumped back from the swipe and Vitiate lowered his saber again to send lightning at Ezra, but before he could, Ezra threw one of his lightsabers at him. The cyan blade spun through the air as Vitiate desperately raised his own blade but wasn’t quick enough. The hilt of Ezra’s saber sank deep into the side of his chest, cutting through the unarmored section of Vitiate’s suit effortlessly. The apparition faded away as it sank to the ground, as did the saber Ezra had been holding. 

Valkorion walked up behind an exhausted Ezra and stood with his arms folded behind his back. “Well done.”

Without another word Valkorion started to walk towards where the apparitions had emerged from. “Practice here if you’d like, but for now I must return to the Force,” was all Valkorion said as he walked into an unseen door. It wasn’t goodbye so Ezra was confident that he would see him again one day


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter.

**Day 368, 0 BBY**

Sabine couldn’t believe what she’d heard, the rebels did it. In one afternoon, they managed to make the Empire look weaker than the Spectres had in all their years together. Destroying a moon sized battle-station that could destroy planets by using a single volley of proton torpedoes from an X-Wing was sure to bolster recruitment, especially after it was revealed that the Empire destroyed Alderaan. News continued to pour in of the unlikely victory and everyone around her was celebrating, but she was heartbroken. One of the many rumors she’d heard was that the pilot was a Jedi, the son of the legendary Anakin Skywalker, according to Hera. But Sabine only wanted one Jedi, she wanted Ezra. She had long ago realized that all his goofy stunts, cockiness, and bravado were just fronts meant to impress her. What she came to appreciate from him was the tender acts of kindness when he thought she wasn’t looking; giving a homeless child credits, helping an old man with his groceries, and doing everything he could to help the vendors that were being harassed by troopers. That and the fact that no matter the circumstance, he was always by her side when missions went wrong. 

The news of any Jedi that wasn’t hers always brought a flood of sorrow, but his assurances of his return had given her the strength she needed to carry on. Since the liberation she hadn’t talked to her mother because of how she spoke of Ezra. The woman never had anything positive to say about him despite his contributions. When her mother had called him worthless, that was enough for Sabine. 

She knew she loved him, but she just hoped that he felt the same. Her entire life was dedicated to him and his planet now and she couldn’t bear the thought of him finding someone else. Her thoughts were interrupted by a glass of Lothal’s own type of alcohol being placed in front of her seat. The sights and sounds of the party came back into reality as she shifted her gaze from the floor. Her head snapped up, ready to tell some random guy to find someone else to bother, but in front of her was Jai Kell. 

“You’re thinking about him. Aren’t you?” he asked as he sat across from her.

Sabine nodded her head and folded her arms in front of her chest as she stared down at the glass in front of her.

“Me too,” Jai said as he looked out one of the many windows. He turned back towards Sabine and put his glass slightly forward. Sabine picked up the beer he had placed in front of her and knocked it against his glass. “To Ezra…” Jai said.

“To Ezra,” she repeated solemnly.

Jai stood once again and left the seat vacant. Sabine brought the glass to her lips once again and didn’t take it away until she had finished the drink. She stood up and really took a moment to look around. All around the penthouse suite of the government building was the sights of celebration. The fireworks display from the citizens was phenomenal. The exploding cartridges illuminated the surrounding buildings in brilliant color and lit up the many officials who had been invited to Ryder’s celebration. The profiles of the men and women in sharp contrast of each other as different light was cast every second was inspirational. And as she looked around, she knew what her next work of art would be.

But something else ate at her conscience. Ezra was counting on her and she hadn’t let him down, but now that the planet was safe, why couldn’t she get him?

Sabine stood and walked out of the room and into the elevator calmly. When she made it to the ground level she broke out into a sprint towards the spaceport. She weaved in and out of crowds, finding all sorts of new scenes to paint as she turned through the markets and houses. She stopped at the spaceport when she reached the open hangar door, inside was Ryder and his driver waiting at Ezra’s ship. 

Sabine walked forward confidently. “I need to get him back,” she declared as she got closer.

Ryder stood and put his hands up while he moved in front of the ramp. “You can’t go, not yet anyway. We’re still not safe here.”

“The Death Star was destroyed, of course we’re safe. The Empire has bigger things to deal with now,” Sabine explained as she tried to maneuver around him. 

The old man sighed as he looked at her sadly. “Sabine, you’re no politician but you know as well as I do, that right now, the Empire will be looking for a propaganda piece to instill fear in its population. They may not be able to get the Jedi who took out their toy, but they can massacre the only planet in the galaxy who was freed by one,” he explained patiently in a low voice.

Sabine deflated as she processed his words. He was right, there was a good chance they would come after Lothal. And there was no point in searching for Ezra if he didn’t have a planet to go back to. “You don’t know what you’re asking me to do,” Sabine said bitterly even though she understood his view. 

“Believe me Sabine, I want him back too. More than anything, I want to know that he’s safe. He deserves to see this,” he said as he gestured towards the ongoing fireworks display. “But until we can guarantee that they won’t come after us, we need you here to lead the military.”

Sabine turned around and left the hangar. She walked the entire distance back to Ezra’s tower nearly crying. When she got inside, she took off her helmet and went to place it on a table. However, in her peripheral vision was his lightsaber. Sabine dropped her helmet on the table and moved to pick up the durasteel hilt. _“Stupid kriffing Jedi. Why’d you have to do this?”_

Sabine moved to the balcony as anger fueled her actions, she reared back and prepared to throw the saber as far as she could, but she heard a distant howling noise. She peered around the surrounding landscape until she saw a white lothwolf illuminated by the moonlight. When she locked eyes with it, she felt a familiar presence wrap around her. “Kanan, why’d he have to leave?”

She wasn’t given a reply as the wolf stood and walked away leave. Alone again, Sabine stood and walked back into the apartment she unknowingly made for two and laid down in the bed.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the chapters were lost somehow, so I had to rewrite them, hence the delay. But two new chapters this week. Also a massive time skip since the last chapter

**Day 34, 3 ABY**

All Ezra knew regarding time is that it had been a long one since he left Lothal. Years, at least, had passed while he trained on this mysterious planet with Valkorion’s odd view of the Force and Lightsaber techniques. Almost all day, every day, revolved around him improving his physical, mental, or Force strength as well as his skills with a Lightsaber. The little time he spent on something else was usually improvements to his weapons and armor or farming. It turns out he was correct about the flooding because shortly after he started training the snow on the mountains began to disappear and a torrent of white water had surged through the creek bed and covered the cruiser nearly to the top, no doubt aided by the avalanche he had carelessly triggered. A few improvements were made on his house, nearly exclusively coming in the form of salvaging fallen imperial debris, solar collectors, and generators mostly. His comfortable living standard beats when he lived on the street and was almost as nice as when he lived on the _Ghost_ … Almost. During most of his non-mental practice sessions he allowed his mind to wander back to what he left behind. His surrogate mother, His annoying purple roommate, the family ‘pet’ in the formed of that Force forsaken droid, and Sabine. Ezra was certain she already found someone who made her happy and he resigned himself to the fact that he would never be with her the way he wanted to, but a small part of him still clung to that hope based on a vision he’d had years ago.

Ezra knelt on the levy overlooking the plains and rhythmically breathed to sooth himself into his meditation. Suddenly, he felt the cold wash over him and grip his body. He opened his eyes to the back of the Sith Lord he had faced a few times before as he cut the hand off a blonde-haired guy about the same age as him. He could feel the man’s anguish as he tried to crawl away from his inevitable death at the hands of the second most evil being in the galaxy.

“There is no escape. Don’t make me destroy you” he threatened in a low growl as he lowered his crimson saber to his side.

The boy began to crawl backwards with fear twisting his face as his eyes darted from the Vader’s face to his saber. “Luke, you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me and I will complete your training,” he said in his baritone voice as he curled his left hand into a tight fist in some sort of gesture of power at ‘Luke.’ The Sith Lord raised his voice as Luke continued to crawl away from him. “With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy.”

As the Sith finished Luke pulled himself up the antenna that he had been crawling towards. “I’ll never join you!” he spit in between ragged breaths as he turned to face his enemy.

The Sith Lord raised his hand in a half-curled motion and shook it in front of himself as he tried to turn him to the Dark. “If you only knew the power of the Dark side,” he started as he closed his fist and brought it towards himself. “Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father,” he said as a statement instead of a question, like he already knew.

“He told me enough. He told me you killed him,” Luke said in a raspy growl.

“No. _I_ am your father.” The Sith Lord replied as the boy’s face changed from pained to confused instantly. 

“No. No… That’s not true. That’s impossible!” Luke shouted back desperately, but Ezra could sense his confusion and anguish.

“Search your feelings,” the Sith commanded. “You know it to be true.”

“No! NO!” Luke shouted as his face changed to anguish at the revelation.

“Luke. You can destroy the emperor. He has foreseen this. It is your destiny. Join me, and together we can rule the galaxy as father and son.”

Luke looked down and Ezra guessed he was debating suicide by dropping down the seemingly bottomless pit beneath him.

“Come with me. It is the only way.”

Luke looked back at the black-clad warrior in front of him as he deactivated his red saber. He took a nervous step towards him and the Sith clipped his saber back onto his belt.

Luke didn’t move again as he looked at the man who had nearly killed Ezra every time they met. Vader extended his hand with his palm facing up. “Come with me… Son.” Ezra watched as the man grabbed Vader’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled onto the platform where the Sith stood. The bright blue eyes Luke was sporting before, slowly faded into the sickly Sith yellow that haunted Ezra’s dreams as he felt Luke’s emotions change from confusion and pain, into hatred. 

The vision slowly faded away and an unseen fog rolled back to reveal Master Kenobi and Master Yoda. Ezra locked eyes with them as they stood silently before him. After a long and tense moment Yoda spoke softly “The time is right for your return.”

“Master, what just happened?” Ezra asked cautiously.

“Failed once again, we have. Allowed another Skywalker to fall to the Dark side we did.”

“So, what he was saying was true? That Sith Lord was his father?”

“Yes,” Kenobi answered solemnly. “That Sith Lord was once Anakin Skywalker, my apprentice. And the boy is his son, Luke.”

Ezra felt the sorrow and years of regret reverberating through the Force and strengthened his own resolve. “What must I do?”

“Wait.” The masters stated in unison as the vision slowly faded away and left Ezra on top of the levy once again. 

Ezra could wait. He’d been waiting for what he knew was years and he had a feeling he wouldn’t be waiting too much longer. The galaxy was in a worse state than when he left, and knew that this new Sith would spell certain doom for the rebellion. Ezra walked back into his house and pulled the last two Kyber crystals from the sack that he found on the ship. These two weren’t bonded to a Jedi yet, so when he picked them up the clear crystal slowly morphed into one with a faint blue tint. 

Ezra placed the crystals on a mat as he knelt and scattered the lightsaber parts he had collected from the ship around the room. He closed his eyes and opened himself up to the Force, through it he could sense the movement of the items around him and after a few hours of deep concentration he opened his eyes to see the result of his work.

Suspended before him was a hilt that was halfway between his own and Maul’s in terms of length. The durasteel sleeve was broken up by gold patterns and there were grooves to allow for a better grip on the weapon. The emitter was the same diameter as the rest of the hilt and rolled towards the end in a smooth arc, the same one he’d used with Valkorion.

Ezra grabbed the weapon from the air and thumbed the activator switches, two cyan blades shot out from each end and Ezra could hear the contented hums of the Kyber crystal as the energy flowed through them. Ezra deactivated one blade and gripped his new saber like he would his old one, he found the length acceptable to wield in the traditional way. He twisted his hands to adjust his grip and was met by the two sides of the saber separating from each other at the halfway point. The magnetic seal that held it together allowed him to change the dual bladed saber into two separate ones. The slightly shortened length of each one meant holding them in one hand felt natural and easy to control. 

Ezra walked out to his practice area and ran through his drills, eager to test out his new saber. Relying on Valkorion and guidance from master Yoda and Kenobi, he continued to practice in the next months until he sensed a familiar presence far off, but getting closer.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters were added this week to make up for last week. This one and 15 are the newest

**Day 95, 3 ABY**

Ezra had his possessions in a makeshift bag as he eagerly paced back and forth in front of his house. He closed his eyes and looked through the Force again, he could see Sabine’s bright signature in the Force as well as Ahsoka’s, along with a few dimmer ones that still felt familiar. When he opened his eyes this time, he saw a CR90 Corvette flying low and fast. They drastically slowed down as they got closer and as soon as the ship touched down an airlock opened on the side. Before the ramp could be lowered, Sabine was flying towards him with her jetpack. She landed on the ground and walked towards him fast as she dissipated her remaining momentum in her steps, she looked up at Ezra. He could see the worry and concern on her face as she stopped a foot or two in front of him. 

“Hey,” Ezra said simply after a few seconds of silence.

Sabine’s face morphed into on of anger and she chose to respond with a sharp punch in the gut before she started screaming in her native tongue. “Draar kebbur ibac osik tug’yc!” She exclaimed. “Do you have any idea what that did to me?”

Finally, able to take in the air that was forced from his lungs with her punch, Ezra took a deep breath and glanced up to see Ahsoka standing at the bottom of the ramp silently looking on with pity. From his keeled over position, he felt his hair get caught in a durasteel grip as his head was jerked upwards. Now he was looking at a furious Mandalorian and despite the pain he still felt, he still gave her a goofy lopsided grin. Her expression instantly softened as her eyes met his as she released his long hair and moved her hand gently down his face. “Well?” she asked softly. 

“Sabine… I’m sorry. If I knew this is how you would’ve reacted, I probably would’ve worn my armor today,” he offered jokingly.

Sabine, for her part, wasn’t amused. Her smile turned into a frown briefly before her face turned even again. “Di’kut.” There was a long moment as Ezra got lost in the sensation of Sabine’s thumb caressing his cheek. “Let’s go,” she ordered. “You can shave that thing off your face once we’re under way. And you can at least try to apologize for what you did.”

Ezra remembered their situation and started to feel like the most horrible person in the galaxy as he followed Sabine to the corvette. “Sabine,” he called out as he trailed behind her. “If there was another way… I would have never done this.”

She looked back at him with a sorrowful look in her eyes. “I know, Ezra.” Sabine turned around and started up the ramp. When Ezra got inside, he found what he assumed were other rebels in a new type of uniform, blue shirts, black vests, and khaki pants; as well as a few Mandalorians. The only one he remembered by name besides Sabine was her brother.

“Tristan,” he greeted simply as he lugged his heavy bag over his shoulder. 

The slightly younger guy just shook his helmeted head as he turned his gaze to the floor. “Oh, you’ve really pissed her off this time, Bridger.”

“Why is she so angry?” Ezra asked quietly, feeling like he was missing something.

“Probably because you abandoned her and flew out into the middle of nowhere with a bunch of Purrgil and imps.”

Ezra just looked at him. “Why is she so upset about me leaving?” He inquired. To him, it just didn’t make sense… Sure she lost a friend, but her response was a bit drastic in his opinion, and in his stomach’s opinion. “She knows why I did it.”

“So, you are as stupid as my mother says…” he said playfully. “No. really. She did say that. But you _really_ don’t know how Sabine feels about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Oh boy, you're hopeless,” was all Tristan replied with quietly as he turned around and walked away.

Ezra walked through the familiar halls of the blockade runner and eventually found Sabine and Ahsoka on the bridge talking to a group of holograms. He could recognize Hera and Leia anywhere, and he really hoped that he wasn’t seeing Lando Calrissian off to the Princess’ side. As he got closer, he could hear murmurs about Luke Skywalker from multiple members of the call. “Is that the one who fell to the Dark Side?” he asked. The entire table went silent as he walked into their view. “Anakin Skywalker’s son?” he continued. 

“Ho-How did you know about him?” Leia asked. 

Ahsoka smirked at the princess. “The Force is omnipotent, Leia. If it wanted Ezra to see something, then it would have shown him,” Ahsoka explained as the rest of the table looked on with rapt fascination. “I’m sure you’re ready to fight then… Master Yoda told me about your new teacher,” she continued with her eyebrow raised.

Mon Mothma spoke next. “Well that shortens our briefing time drastically,” she said in her warm voice. “With Skywalker gone we need all the help we can get. Commander Bridger, welcome back to the rebellion.” 

_“Wait I don’t get a choice?”_

One by one the members of the briefing faded out as they severed their connections before he could say anything. The last few present were Hera, Dodonna, Leia, and Lando. 

“Ezra,” Hera said authoritatively as she looked at him happily through the holonet.

“Yeah?” He replied like he hadn’t been missing for an unknown amount of time.

“That’s not regulation, and Sabine doesn’t like it. Shave it,” she answered as she made a gesture around her mouth, telling him the messy beard had to go.

“Regulation? We have those now?... Right. I’ll get on that as soon as I have a cabin to put my stuff down in,” He said as Hera turned and looked at Sabine.

“Come on,” Sabine grumbled out as she pulled him by the arm.

They walked back into a private refresher and Sabine turned on the warm sterilized water and handed him a razor. “After you get that loth-rat nest off your face, come and see me.”

Ezra nodded and held the razor beneath the water, his eyes travelled up to the small mirror and he almost couldn’t recognize himself. Gone was his smooth copper skin, now hidden by an unkempt beard the same color as his hair. The spots not covered by hair were marred by the past years of injuries; due to his desire to conserve bacta, he hadn’t used it on his lesser wounds and now it was showing. Countless battles with the fauna of the planet he lived on had taken its toll on his complexion. Moving his gaze upwards he noted his tired looking eyes and his wild hair. Before he even brought the razor out of the water, he shut off the flow and stepped into the shower to get himself clean for the first time in a while. Of course, after he got out, he had shaved like Sabine ordered him to and now he was looking back at a more familiar face as he ran his hands down his cheeks. However, with him removing his body suit, he noticed just how much he had changed physically. His once narrow frame was now widened with a set of broad, strong shoulders and muscle that years of rugged survival had granted him. He was taller too, looking at himself he remembered being on a CR90 just before the crew had left for Lothal for the last time. Now he thought he was even taller than Kanan…

Ezra’s vision blurred as moisture flooded his eyes at the thought of his old master. The man had sacrificed so much for him over the years until he sacrificed himself. Suddenly, Ezra remembered Kanan’s lightsaber and knew he had to give it back to Hera whenever he got to see her.

Stepping out of the refresher wrapped in a towel from the waist down, he noticed Sabine staring at him in shock. “You were just supposed to shave,” she pointed out as she continued to stare at him, her cheeks turning bright pink as he looked back at her.

“Uh… Yeah. But I was dirty, so I showered too,” Ezra pointed out as he quickly moved towards his bag to grab a semi-clean body suit. “Sorry, Sabine.”

He rushed back into the refresher and quickly shucked the towel in favor of the slightly small form fitting suit. He stepped back out and Sabine’s face immediately flushed red again when she looked at him. “Sorry, not helping,” Ezra said as he grabbed one of the Jedi robes from his bag.

“I-It’s okay, Ez,” Sabine replied as he scrambled to get into the loose-fitting garment. 

When he got his head through the gap meant for it, he straightened out the robes and finally met Sabine’s eyes as she stood and walked towards him. She slowly extended her arm and cupped the side of his face gently as her thumb caressed the scars he had gotten fighting the Grand Inquisitor. “I missed you,” he said softly.

Sabine didn’t say anything, but she closed the distance between them as she stared into Ezra’s eyes. Slowly, she leaned upwards and towards him as she closed her eyes. Ezra shut his own as he leaned forward to meet her halfway. When they met, Sabine gently pressed her lips against his and they kissed for what seemed like minutes to Ezra. Regretfully, he loosened the grip around her waist that he had unknowingly had on her and brought his head back to look into her amber eyes. “Sabine, what’s going on?”

He had been found for a reason and he needed to know what his new purpose was in the galaxy. Sabine slowly pulled away from him. “Vader killed the Emperor and took his place; Luke has been giving him the intel they need to crush the rebellion. Every base Skywalker ever visited has fallen to Imperial attacks led by what we originally thought to be a new Inquisitor,” she explained.

“But it wasn’t?” Ezra asked, hoping he didn’t already know the answer.

Sabine shook he head. “It’s Luke, he’s Vader’s apprentice. Ahsoka said he’s already much more powerful than any Inquisitor. But we can’t let his identity leak… Right now, they think he’s just been captured, if they find out he’s their new top agent, morale would be… non-existent.”

Three quick knocks were tapped on the door and Sabine took another step back just before the door opened. Outside the door was Ahsoka, she changed out of her white robes in favor of her regular outfit that Ezra had remembered. “We’ll rendezvous with _Home One_ shortly,” she said to both of them. “Ezra, be ready to leave, we already have our first mission.” With that Ahsoka turned and left them alone again. 

Sabine quickly walked to one of the drawers in the cabin and pulled something out of it. “Here… You’ll need this,” she said as she extended Ezra’s old green saber to him.

Ezra looked at the saber that he had gone through so much with. From the days after Malachor to the day Lothal was freed, that saber was by his side, but now he had a new one, purpose built for his mission and new fighting style. “Keep it,” he told her quietly before he even knew he was going to say it.

“What?” Sabine asked as her breath hitched.

Ezra extended his hand towards his bag and called his new saber to him. He caught it in the air and held it out level in front of him. “I made a new one for the skills I picked up, keep that one,” he answered.

“But Kanan said these weapons are your lives,” she argued.

“I know, Sabine. But I want to be able to keep you safe even when I’m not around, that’s why I had Chop give it to you in the first place.”

Sabine hesitantly lowered the hilt and clipped it to her utility belt before moving back in to embrace Ezra again. “Thank you,” she whispered softly against his chest.

The pair walked to the ship’s mess hall in a comfortable silence. Ezra noted all the changes as he walked past the new members of the rebellion, a standard uniform, better equipment, and a well-maintained ship. What he was seeing now was most certainly better than the rebellion he had left. He was just hoping that they could keep it going. Their dinner was pretty good by rebellion standards, they ate some type of Mandalorian stew he never heard of, it was extremely spicy, but still good. It turns out Tristan wasn’t the only other Mandalorian he was familiar with; Sabine reintroduced him to the members of her clan that he had fought with during his time on Krownest and Mandalore, although they shifted uncomfortably as he sat closer to Sabine than they would have liked. 

After they got back from dinner with the Mandalorians, Sabine took Ezra back to the same cabin as before. “Is this where I’m staying?” he asked as she began to move things around.

She nodded nervously as she quickly brushed off the top of the bed. 

“How close is your cabin?” he asked her as he picked up his bag and walked to the drawers on built into the wall. He opened them to see they were already filled.

“It’s this one,” she squeaked out.

“Sabine, I don-” his reply was cut short as she whipped around and yanked his head down towards hers. She leaned in fast and began to kiss him more passionately than she had ever done anything. For both, everything felt so right in that moment. The world around them seemed to melt away, even the background humming of the ship was muted as they got lost in the new sensation, completely allowing their instincts to guide the embrace. They separated slowly a few moments later.

Sabine leaned her head against his chest, and he sat there, relishing the contact. “Ez, you need to get some rest. They want you to start working when we get back.” She released her hold on him and pushed him onto the bunk before grabbing a towel and change of clothes and moving into the refresher. “I’ll be back soon… and no funny business tonight,” she said firmly while pinning him in a glare.

Ezra just smiled as he watched her walk into the refresher. _"We're sharing a bed now?"_


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just want to let you guys know that I have been reading your comments, but haven't found the time to respond to them yet. I'll probably post a chapter (Or at least an edit to this one) that answers all your questions separate from the story.

**Day 96, 3 ABY**

The corvette dropped from hyperspace and Ezra watched from the bridge as they began the docking sequence with the massive Mon Cala cruiser. Now wearing his armor, Ezra was ready to join high command to discuss his newest objective. Ezra and Sabine walked towards the airlock as every crew member, in what he now knew as the same uniform the Alderaanian rebels wore before the destruction of their home planet, snapped a salute at them as they passed. The long white hallways of the ship finally came to an end as they came to a thick bulkhead on the port side of the CR90. There was a sharp hiss as the pressure was equalized between the two airlocks. The hatch opened and a green blur launched through before it even finished opening. Ezra stumbled back and looked down to see his surrogate mother wrapping him in a crushing embrace. “Hera,” he choked out as the Twi’lek squeezed hard enough to make a few of his vertebrae crack.

Ezra heard a familiar laugh and faced up to see Rex looking younger than he remembered. “Nice armor Ezra, too bad it’s rated for blaster bolts and not spine crushing Twi’leks,” the clone said with a chuckle. 

Hera let go of him, leaning back and smiling at the younger man. “Sorry,” she apologized half-heartedly. “We’ll catch up after the briefing.” Hera turned and walked away before Ezra could respond, leading them toward the command center where everyone was waiting.

“Hey. Hera,” Ezra half whispered as they walked through the white hallways. “Hera, take this,” he ordered as he held Kanan’s lightsaber out to her.

Hera turned and stopped breathing when she saw the shining hilt in Ezra’s hand. Her gasp was subtle enough to not attract everyone else’s attention, but her abrupt stop did. Ezra felt the cold durasteel slide through his palm as she pulled it away. “Thank you,” she said almost too softly to hear. Hera clutched the saber tight to her chest as the moisture in her eyes gleamed in the white light of the cruiser’s interior lighting.

“I took it from Thrawn when I left the _Chimaera_ , I know he’d want you to have it.” Ezra smiled weakly at her as he explained. “And I wasn’t gonna let that bastard keep it as a trophy.” 

Hera nodded as she looked beyond Ezra into some, unknown to them, but very captivating scene in her mind’s eye. The tears she’d been building threatened to spill over as she ran her hands over the hilt. “We should probably get going,” Hera said thoughtfully before spinning on her heel and walking to their destination with renewed vigor.

Upon entering the briefing room, the argument between the various commanders and Ahsoka stopped. Ezra walked to the holoprojector where they were gathered and looked expectantly at the leaders of the rebellion. “What’s going on?” he asked after an uncomfortable silence.

“High command wants us to rescue an officer who was captured by Jabba the Hutt’s bounty hunters,” Ahsoka began to explain. “But we need to get Master Yoda before the Empire does.”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Ezra asked the room.

“Permission,” Leia said pointedly. “Han is an important asset to our cause, and I won’t let him be left on that dust ball any longer than he has to be. We need you two to help in the rescue.”

“The Empire will kill Master Yoda. They’ve already given up Solo,” Ahsoka argued. “Besides, a Jedi master can do a lot more for the rebellion than some drunken smuggler who couldn’t even manage to smuggle.”

“We don’t even know where Yoda is,” Leia shouted, angry at Ahsoka’s description, but curiously not arguing against it.

Ezra’s hands felt damp as he stood in the climate-controlled room. An odd humidity encapsulated him in a sticky heat that seemed unnatural. _Dagobah_ it whispered to him as he glanced at his palms. Ezra didn’t know where the word came from or what it meant, but the voice and feeling it came with were vaguely familiar to him. The humidity increased as whatever presence had contacted him tried to force its way into the front of his mind.

“We know he doesn’t have some debt to pay off,” The Togruta not-a-Jedi replied sharply. “And we know he won’t fly into a trap set by a ‘friend’ because he sucks at fixing hyperdrives.”

 _Dagobah_ It said again, more assertively as the voices around Ezra faded into background noise. The sounds of creatures groaning and squawking in the distance further drowned out the petty argument in front of him.

“Excuse me?!” Leia demanded incredulously as she leaned over the table at Ahsoka. “This precious-”

 _DAGOBAH_ The voice shouted at him, drowning out whatever Leia was going to say. Now he could recognize Yoda’s voice as his shrill shouts echoed through the room in his mind.

“Does anyone know about something called Dagobah?” He asked before he knew what he was saying.

Everyone’s intense arguments stopped as their heads were turned to Ezra. 

“Dagobah’s a planet in the outer rim... One that a few of the old masters talked about. Where did you hear that?” Ahsoka asked quietly.

“Master Yoda I think.”

“Dagobah isn’t too far from here. Ezra and I will go find him while the rest of you make the preparations for Solo’s rescue.” Ahsoka turned around and left without letting them argue as Ezra followed close behind her. As quickly as they could, they made their way down to her T6 shuttle. 

Much to Ezra’s joy, Sabine was waiting inside for them. “Did you really think I was going to let you leave without supervision, Ezra?” She asked as she cocked her helmeted head to the side. “I just got you back and I’m not letting you run off again.” Ahsoka chuckled as she brushed past Sabine and moved towards the cockpit. 

“Setting course for Dagobah,” She called back as Sabine closed the door behind Ezra and took a followed Ahsoka to the cockpit.

When the hyperspace tunnel faded from view their scanners started chiming. On the other side of the system, there was a fleet of Imperial ships. The group of eleven Imperial-II Star Destroyers was headed up by the same ship that led the assault force against Echo Base. Nearly twelve times as long as its counterparts, the _Executor_ cruised towards Dagobah with the rest of Death Squadron in a defensive formation. It wasn’t long before an alarm sounded on the console indicating that the shuttle had been scanned by the Empire. Ahsoka sent the shuttle into a steep dive towards the swampy planet; of course, it was just their luck that the Empire identified them and sent out a squadron of TIEs from one of Vader’s support ships. 

Ashoka shot through the clouds at maximum atmospheric speed relying on her Force abilities instead of the now malfunctioning scanners. Behind them the TIEs screamed as they broke through the upper atmosphere, pretty soon the only source of illumination for the Jedi and Sabine were the green streaks of deadly plasma being launched by the enemy fighters. Without rear cannons, all they could do now was rely on Ahsoka’s skills as a pilot and connection to the Force, but thankfully, she had been trained by the best pilot the Jedi order had to offer. The modified T6 was large but was surprisingly agile for its size. From his seat in the rear of the cockpit, Ezra watched the Togruta push the yoke towards the console and send the ship into another sharp dive. Suddenly, she rolled the ship to the left as she leveled out and Ezra could have sworn, he’d seen a tree next to them. Seconds later his suspicions were confirmed when the fog in front of them briefly glowed orange as the explosion of a TIE fighter burned through the fog behind them in a spectacular detonation. 

Ahsoka smirked slightly at her little maneuver before she brought the ship into a high arcing loop. After a nauseating inverted spin, they dropped behind a pair of TIEs. Ahsoka lined up the ship with the center of the TIEs. Right when the targeting computer chimed Sabine squeezed the trigger on her yoke. “Got him,” she exclaimed as the vessel in front of them burst into a ball of flames and rained small bits of debris against their forward deflectors. Ahsoka lined up the next shot, another volley of blue turbolasers flew out from their ship, knocking the wing off the TIE and sending it careening uncontrollably into the depths of the swamp. 

Just as the feeling of triumph began to subside, their ship was rocked by laser fire hitting their rear deflectors. Ahsoka grunted in frustration as another alarm started blaring. Suddenly, she jerked the yoke towards her, and Ezra was pinned to his seat as they rapidly gained altitude. She started wildly flipping switches and pressing buttons until the whine of their engines cut out and the ship drastically slowed down. The TIE streaked past them as Sabine fired the cannons, as it exploded in a fiery blaze, their shuttle flipped as all their forward momentum dissipated and sent them into a freefall. Ezra was once again pinned to his seat as panic coursed through him, but Ahsoka and Sabine seemed as calm and collected as ever. With only the maneuvering thrusters on, they weaved in and out of the blaster fire as they lined up their targeting computers with the TIEs. Another two fighters were hit by Sabine’s cannons on the way down, and the others began to withdraw to join the inevitable reinforcements. 

Ahsoka steered the ship towards a familiar presence in the Force. “I think I know where Master Yoda is,” the Togruta explained as she began to fly normally again.

Minutes later, they touched down in one of the few clearings on the planet and the old Jedi master hobbled towards them. “Hurry we must! They are almost upon us!” He called out to them.

Suddenly, Ezra felt the most intense chill he’d ever had run down his spine and set a tight grip around his body. Ahsoka and Master Yoda felt it too, because all three of them looked up to the same point in the soupy gray mist until a spotlight managed to cut through, preceding a Lambda class shuttle.

“Too late,” Ezra said nervously as he disconnected his lightsaber from his belt. 

It felt like forever, but eventually the hiss and fog from under the cockpit signified the opening of the shuttle’s loading ramp. When the end of the ramp touched the ground, all the animals around them stopped their chattering as another wave of cold swept over the group. Even though Sabine wasn’t Force sensitive, the sheer power of the cold made her shudder too. Ahsoka drew and ignited her sabers and assumed the Ataru ready position while Ezra positioned himself for a duel reliant on Makashi skills that he had picked up from Valkorion. 

Sabine just handed Ezra’s old lightsaber off to Yoda. “I’ll uh… Go start the ship,” she offered as she slowly backed away. Even though she would want to take part in this fight, Ezra knew she was being practical in case the duel didn’t go their way. 

Yoda grunted in confirmation as he too assumed his Ataru stance and prepared himself for a fight.

The familiar sound of a breathing apparatus could be heard emanating softly from the top of the ramp, one heavy and one light set of footsteps could be heard as they slowly walked down. Simultaneously, two red blades sprung from unseen hilts to show to black clad figures, one of which Ezra recognized as Darth Vader.

“You _have to be_ Luke,” He called out to the golden-eyed, blonde-haired boy who stood next to Vader who he was sure he’d seen in one of Valkorion’s tests.

The figure said nothing but started to walk forward. Ezra ignited one side of his cyan lightsaber and prepared for a fight as Yoda did the same.

There were a few tense seconds as the Sith stopped and sized up their opponents. “Oh, come on! Don’t tell me you’re scared,” Ezra said, hoping to goad the younger one into making a rash move. 

Well, his plan worked, and Luke took a flying leap at Ezra with his saber raised. Ezra brought his saber up and redirected the blow efficiently towards the ground. Luke spun and brought his saber in for a horizontal slash to Ezra’s midsection. Ezra jumped back to dodge the overpowered strike and quickly stepped back forward to make a shallow cut at Luke’s guard. The Sith apprentice desperately moved his saber to absorb the blow. Ezra broke the brief blade lock and began to make quick, light slashes at Luke’s guard to find a weakness, alternating between high and low attacks and trying to pull Luke’s defense away from his body.

Unfortunately for all parties involved, Ezra couldn’t find the gap in his defenses quick enough and soon, Luke regained his composure. Moving into the Djem So ready position after he leapt back from Ezra when he realized the Jedi’s strategy. Luke let his anger be refined and turned into controlled power instead of the raw emotion he had just been using for what he must have hoped to be a quick victory. Ezra and Luke tried to outmaneuver each other, both waiting for the other to strike and grant them an opportunity to counter. Ezra decided to indulge Luke’s patience, but not before he adjusted his movements to more effectively use Niman. Ezra gripped his saber with the blade up and to the back with his off-hand folded over his chest much to Luke’s confusion, but quickly activated the other blade and started to spin the saber around and batter Luke’s like he had seen Maul do on Malachor. Although he could never have hoped to master all the lightsaber combat forms in the relatively short time that he was a Jedi, Ezra was still fairly confident in his ability to fight. His lack of mastery in form VI could probably be seen by everyone present except for Luke, and that’s all he needed. 

Ezra gave a low chop a left what seemed like an obvious opening as a trap, and because Luke was still early on in his own training, he tried to use the gap in a counterattack. Ezra dodged the strike, making Luke overextend himself, and as soon as he was off balance, Ezra took his offhand away from his chest and sent out a powerful Force push. Luke was knocked back towards the shuttle as he tried to recover. Ezra smiled slightly and allowed himself to be distracted by his opponent’s misfortune almost long enough to be decapitated by Vader. Luckily, he received the warning from the Force just in time and managed to duck under what would have been a killing blow. 

Ezra staggered forward and managed to spin around just in time for his blade to catch the Sith master’s just inches away from his face. He could feel the burning heat as the immense strength of his opponent bared down on his defenses. Just as he thought he smelled burning flesh, a small green blur flipped into view and began to assault Vader with low strikes. Despite being the oldest being Ezra had ever seen, Yoda was still very agile. Ezra could hardly keep up as Yoda made the most effective use of Ataru that he’d ever seen. Although Yoda could jump and spin faster than Vader could hope to move, he couldn’t exploit a gap in the Sith Lord’s modified version of Djem So that left almost no openings.

Ezra quickly tried to rejoin the fight but was effortlessly tossed aside by Vader’s unmatched strength in the Force. He felt himself impact against the trunk of one of the many thick trees in the swamp before his sight got blurry for a few seconds. After a moment of blinking and groaning as he tried to regain his bearings, Ezra remembered where he was and what he had been doing. For now, his headache and the wet spot at the back of his head would have to wait.

Vader spun his saber over Yoda’s head in a counterattack, and the small Jedi master was caught in a blade lock. Ezra watched in abject horror as red pushed green towards the top of his head. Just when the blades were about to make contact, Ahsoka leapt through the air at Vader, forcing him to spin around and release the lock he had on a now exhausted Yoda. “Master! Get to the ship!” Ezra shouted.

The old master complied and made for the ramp of the nearly fully powered up ship. Ezra turned back to watch Ahsoka move like water and make graceful slices all around Vader’s guard. First came a diagonal upwards slash that was reflected but quickly turned into a horizontal swipe which Vader barely managed to avoid. Ahsoka let the blade keep going until she could change its course into an overhead strike that Vader caught with his blade. Ahsoka didn’t allow the blades to be locked for long and quickly made another flurry of light strikes alternating sides and angles. “Ezra… Get on board,” She ordered.

“But what about you?” He asked as she slowly pushed Vader back.

“I’ll be along,” she said mischeviously.

Ezra turned and ran to the ramp. “Sabine! take off!” he shouted as he held the hydraulic that allowed the ramp to extend. The shuttle rose and Ezra watched Ahsoka jump back and throw her lightsaber into a vine before calling it back with the Force. Vader turned to see a massive vine-wrapped log swing towards him. Ahsoka took the opportunity to jump to the ship and hang on to the bottom of the ramp with the tips of her fingers. Sabine spun the shuttle around, firing a few shots from the shuttle’s cannons at the duo beneath them. Ezra grabbed Ahsoka by the forearms and pulled her onto the ramp before they both ran inside. Upon entry he rapidly closed the airlock and Sabine broke atmosphere, heading for a gap in the Imperial formation. The turbolaser batteries on the hulls of the ships began to fire on them as Sabine desperately calculated the hyperspace jump. Ezra closed his eyes and prepared for the worst but was elated when he felt the ship lurch into hyperspace as the tension left the room. 

He opened his eyes to see Sabine staring at him with what looked like a half frown, half smile on her face. “Did you think I couldn’t do it?” She demanded. Ezra couldn’t tell if she was joking, or actually wondering if he was questioning her ability. He nervously giggled at her and started to rub the back of his neck like he had always done. He felt something sticky underneath his hand and stopped his nervous laughter abruptly. “You okay, Ezra?” Sabine asked as her face shifted to one of concern.

Ezra pulled his hand away from his head and looked at the deep-red, sticky substance in his palm. He’d spent enough time in the wilderness to know that it was his own half dried blood. Suddenly a burning sensation appeared at the base of his skull and his head started pounding. With the adrenaline from his fight wearing off, he could finally feel the injury he sustained in his fight with Vader. He couldn’t take his gaze away from his palm as Ahsoka and Sabine began trying to get his attention.

“Ezra? Ezra are you alright?” he heard one of them say. 

His breathing quickened as his vision became blurry and his heart rate slowed down.

“Ezra, sit down.”

He felt himself nod in agreement as he slumped backwards into a seat and fought to keep his eyes open. 

Ezra opened his eyes opened to a stark white, endless floor that seemed to glow through the light fog that surrounded the area where he stood. “Hello, padawan,” he heard Kanan’s disembodied voice say from all around him.

“Kanan?” He cried out desperately. “What’s going on?” 

“Well you got thrown into a tree by a Sith Lord, so I’m going to say this has something to do with that. But that’s not why I brought you here,” he began to explain as a non-blind Kanan manifested in front of him. “I don’t think that Luke is completely lost to the Dark. If you can save him from that you have to try.”

“But how?” Ezra asked as he took a few steps towards Kanan and stared back into the teal eyes he had missed so much.

“Remember what brought you back from the brink of Darkness.”

Ezra stared at his master distantly as his mind went back to the worst time of his Jedi life.

“Ezra? Ezra wake up!” He heard distantly in a feminine voice.

“I think it’s time for you to go, Padawan,” Kanan said with a sad smile on his young face and regret in his tone.

“Ezra?” the voice demanded louder this time.

“May the Force be with you,” Kanan said as he and the rest of the dream world faded from view. 

“Kanan, wait,” Ezra tried to demand as the fog rolled in more and began to swallow him up.

Ezra blinked at the bright lights a few times as he tried to focus on his new surroundings. By the smell, he figured he was in some sort of med-bay. The anti-septic scent he was inhaling now was the same one that they had used on the _Ghost_. He blinked rapidly as the blurring voices began to separate and bodily forms started to come into focus in the light. He squeezed his eyes shut and softly groaned as the dull throbbing in his skull returned.

Ezra sat up in the bed and slowly opened his eyes. In front of him was Sabine, Hera, Ahsoka, Zeb, Kallus, Rex, and even Chopper. Everyone’s face shifted from nervousness to relief as he gave them a lopsided grin. 

“He’s awake!” Hera called out into the hall. 

Ezra looked down to see Sabine stroking his hand softly as she smiled back at him. He was about to say something to her when two rebel soldiers entered the room, following them was Leia, Mon Mothma, and two droids he recognized from somewhere. 

“Good. You’re back,” Leia said flatly. “Now you can help us free Captain Solo. The advance parties are already in place, all we need you to do is be captured by Jabba the Hutt,” she finished as she tossed a datapad with a briefing onto his lap.

Everyone looked at Leia, and Ezra could feel their dissatisfaction at the princess through the Force. Without regarding anyone else, Mon Mothma, Leia, and their escort filed out of the room. The last soldier out the door turned back in “I believe you all have duties to attend to.” Ezra could recognize the snarky tone of Erskin Semaj anywhere. Although he was technically not military, he was Mothma’s aide and could give direction to them in her name. Everyone except for Sabine stood and filed out of the room. Chopper’s binary rumblings could be heard going down the hallway as he insulted the ‘meatbag senator’s baby.’ Sabine chuckled lightly at the angry droid and turned back to face Ezra.

“Don’t worry, Ezra. We’ll be right there with you,” she said before kissing him lightly and leaving the room. 

Ezra half-read the briefing and tried to ignore the fact that this Solo guy’s poor maintenance skills almost damned the alliance to a complete defeat at the battle of Hoth. Now he was stuck in carbonite on Tatooine and Ezra was almost certain that the rebellion was better off with him staying there. But orders were orders and Ezra made ready to leave _Home One_ as he had the data pad’s AI read off their tactical plan for his rescue when the artificial light started to upset his headache.


	18. Chapter 18

**Day 105, 3 ABY**

Up until a day ago, the operation was a massive success. The disguised rebel troopers were in place among Jabba’s security, Lando was hidden among the guards that were assigned to Solo, and Leia had reportedly completed the deal to sell Chewbacca to Jabba the Hutt, but she should have reported in already. Mon Mothma, in a mild panic at the prospect of losing her favorite propaganda piece, sent the Spectres along with Ahsoka, Rex, and Kallus to make sure all their assets were safely retrieved. Ezra of course had insisted on not being captured, citing every way it had gone bad for him before, so they had to go back and adjust the plan for his stubborn, albeit practical refusal. Up in the cockpit, Hera had just established contact with the men that had inserted on the sail barge that they were to be raiding.

The _Ghost_ was flying over the dunes of Tatooine as they closed in on the location provided by an agent. According to what they had been told by one of the men already on the barge, Leia had been a little too eager to see her “friend” again and ended up taking him out of carbonite to see him early and get a little kiss. Naturally, Jabba’s first choice was to have them all thrown into something called a sarlac. So of course, it fell to _Ghost_ crew to bail out the one-time princess, trio of smugglers, and all the regulars before they died some sort of horrible death at the hands of one of the oldest crime families in the galaxy. 

Sabine checked the charge on her blasters and set the power to high while Ezra switched out the power cells in his lightsabers so he wouldn’t run out of power… He’d learned that lesson the hard way when him and Kanan were searching for a base location and only found inquisitors. Hera’s familiar voice came over the intercom. “All right people, the rest of High Command’s counting on us to unscrew their op. Get ready to jump.” The loading ramp let out it’s hydraulic whine as it opened slowly, and the rising sun blinded Ezra as his eyes adjusted to the harsh light being reflected off the sand. Sabine, Ahsoka, and himself all walked to the front of the ramp as it finished lowering with the Jedi squinting their eyes. On the horizon, Ezra could see a few dark dots floating over the sand and quickly moving towards them. As they approached, he could make out the boat-like shape and large fabric sheets suspended above it. _“Jabba’s Sail Barge.”_ The rusted hulk of a landship got closer and the finer details came into view on the upper deck.

“Now!” Sabine yelled as they leapt from the cargo hold on an intercept course with the surface of the ship. With it being so early in the morning, the guards were tired, and few people were actually paying attention to what was going on. The pair of Jedi and the Mandalorian went down in a free fall, aiming for a stack of crates that would provide quick cover. Sabine flattened herself to slow her descent while other two called upon the Force to make a survivable landing. Their hands shot up as soon as they had landed, and they caught Sabine as she joined them a few seconds later.

Ezra spared a look over the edge to see the two smaller speeders carrying most of their targets alongside the large ship. He sat back down in the crates with his companions. “Looks like Han and Chewbacca are slated for execution. I don’t see Leia or Lando with them though,” he informed the women quietly.

Sabine cocked her head towards a hatch just outside the group of crates that was concealing them. Ezra and Ahsoka both nodded before they silently moved out and opened the hatch just enough to slip into the main level. All around them, the scum of the galaxy was sleeping off a night of heavy partying, fighting, and gambling. A small durasteel box sat on the starboard wall of the ship and on top, chained to Jabba, was Leia in a polished gold bikini that left little to the imagination. _“Well that certainly wasn’t the plan…”_ Ezra thought and chuckled internally at the sight.

Leia noticed Ezra’s staring and looked at him, obviously irritated, and gesturing aggressively towards the chain keeping her tethered to the slug. Ezra met her hard glare with a smirk and just shrugged in a non-committal way. He felt something hard impact his right shoulder and turned to see Sabine standing with the Westar-35 she had just poked him with. “Eyes front,” she hissed. Ezra didn’t need to look through the Force to know that Sabine didn’t like the way he was looking at Leia in that outfit even though he thought it was hilarious, not attractive. 

“Easy now, I’m not admiring the view if that’s what you’re thinking,” he replied, hoping to earn himself some slack for her irritated rant afterwards. “I mean, you have to admit, it’s actually pretty funny.”

He also didn’t need the Force to know that Sabine rolled her eyes under her helmet at him. Ahsoka split off to join and hide in a group of Togruta and Twi’lek slave girls who were behind the Hutt. Ezra watched as the girls opened their eyes and went to protest, but Ahsoka made a shushing motion before they could speak, showing them her lightsabers as what he assumed was an assurance. The women all nodded gratefully at her as they parted and then surrounded her to hide her attire and the fact that she wasn’t wearing a chain.

Sabine chuckled at Leia in agreement with Ezra’s point and nodded at him as she slinked away towards the bar and a group of bounty hunters that were up and drinking for breakfast. He saw her order a drink as some brutish looking guy began to talk to her. This time Ezra looked through the Force and sensed the irritation rolling off her in waves. He sat there for a moment and wondered if today was the day Sabine blew an op by prematurely blasting whatever fool decided to hit on her.

Grinning to himself, Ezra moved down another level towards the barracks. Sneaking through the halls, Ezra looked for an armory so he could effectively disguise himself as a guard. He opened a large room filled with hungover people of many different species as they tried to dress themselves. he walked through the rows of men and equipment pretending to be as hungover and groggy as them until he came upon a familiar face. “Delste,” he called softly. 

His old rebellion contact looked up at him surprised. “Bridger? Where the kriff have you been?!”

“I’ll explain later… right now I need a uniform.”

The shorter, brown-haired human man looked thoughtful for a second before he looked back up at Ezra. “Come on.”

As the pair approached a side room, Delste drew his blaster from his hip before turning towards Ezra and putting his index finger up against his lips as an indication to be quiet. Ezra nodded and followed him into the next room wordlessly, shutting the blast door behind him and getting ready with his own blaster. Sitting behind the desk was a man about Ezra’s height but a hell of a lot uglier. “Hey, chief!” Delste called out casually. 

“What is it Orlon?” he demanded as he looked up at the pair. 

Delste just raised his blaster and fired three stun rounds into the guy. He slumped over in his chair and the pair of rebels walked over.

Orlon turned to Ezra with a smug look. “Your disguise…” he offered regally with a grand sweep of his hands and arms at the horrible smelling unconscious man. “But you have to stuff him in the closet… I’m not touching _that_.” Ezra held his breath as he lifted the man who smelled like a weeks’ worth of alcohol and urine and stripped him of his jacket before tying him up, gagging him, and tossing him in the closet. 

“How do I look?” Ezra questioned as he finished zipping the jacket over his armor.

“Like garbage… You’ll fit right in,” Delste finished with a smirk.

Ezra hid his lightsaber on the back of the belt and holstered his DL-44 to his hip. The pair walked out of the office only to be met by a man in green Mandalorian armor that was dented and beat to hell and back. “Where’s the chief?” he asked. The man sounded a lot like Rex and carried around an odd sort of blaster carbine. 

“He’s asleep,” Delste answered. “He’ll pay up later.” 

Delste pushed past him with Ezra following closely behind as the man stared at him through his visor. Ezra spared a quick look back at the man and hoped that he wouldn’t need to fight him later.

Hours after they arrived, the sunlight shined through the slatted shutters that dotted the side of the ship on every deck. By this point, the sail barge’s occupants were beginning to stir, and someone started playing music through the speakers on board. Leia, having fallen asleep sometime after their arrival, opened her eyes and looked around the ship for her soon-to-be rescuers. Her eyes fell on Sabine’s brightly painted Mandalorian armor… As did everyone else’s. The Spectre crew had long since abandoned any attempts to get Sabine to conceal her rather unique armor as they found the argument to be pointless. Leia continued to look around until she spotted Ahsoka in a pile of slave girls and Ezra standing guard near the power generator in the standard uniform, he fit the part well, with the only thing giving him away was the tip of his lightsaber poking out from one side of his body, which you would only notice if you knew what you were looking for. Soon, the shutters creaked open and Jabba’s throne was moved to a spot where he could view the execution perfectly. A cable lowered from the ceiling with a box attached to the end. Jabba reached up to the microphone with his stubby arms and grabbed the box before bringing it to his mouth. His drunken sounding voice slurred through the ship and echoed over the barren wasteland before them.

Throughout the whole speech Ezra could only pick out a few words that he knew without a translator. Due to Jabba apparently destroying his last protocol droid, most of the words Ezra understood had something to do with immense pain, suffering, and death. A seemingly blind man bound at the wrists and dressed in blue pants and a white shirt was prodded towards the end of the ramp by one of the henchmen with a pike. Ezra recognized Solo from the datapad and activated a signal on his communicator. A good portion of the people in the room had theirs start to go off, which caught the attention of everyone throughout the chamber. All the crew who got the signal instantly drew their blasters on those who they knew weren’t friendlies. All of Jabba’s men froze in place as the blasters were aimed at them. Without the execution signal coming, Han wasn’t prodded any further towards the ramp and the men on the roof of the barge trained their guns on the speeder crews. 

Ezra walked towards Jabba with his lightsaber unlit in his hands. He grabbed the microphone from the slug and pulled it to his own mouth, smirking at the loss of grip from the crime boss’s greasy hands. Jabba started to protest but Ezra lit one side of his saber with it pointed directly at him, stopping inches from his face as it burned a bright cyan glow through any haze that surrounded the minds of those present. Satisfied with his control of the situation, he thumbed the key on the side of the microphone and began to speak. “If you’re wondering why the execution hasn’t been ordered, it’s because we have Jabba held under our control.” Ezra let his voice reverberate through the metal walls of the ship and over the sand before continuing. “Release Captain Solo and Chewbacca, and your boss gets out of this unharmed…” Ezra trailed off allowing his words to sink in for a few moments. When no action was taken, he brought the microphone to his mouth again. “If you don’t comply, I’ll dice him to bits and spread his corpse across the unknown regions.” Of course, he would never really do that, but they didn’t know.

Solo was pulled back from the ramp by one of the guards on the speeder. Everything was silent as Chewbacca and Solo were untied, the tension in the air was thick, and threatened to suffocate anyone if it went on any longer. When they were untied, Ezra brought the microphone to his mouth again, “surrender your weapons to them.” The guards on the small vessel complied, and Ezra spun his lightsaber around in a circle. Everyone breathed a collective gasp thinking he had just killed Jabba in cold blood; however, all he did was slice the chain securing Leia to his seat. Jabba began to spew threats at him, but Ezra just chuckled. “We’re taking the rest of your slaves too,” he informed him as he nodded to Ahsoka who then stood and began set the women free.

Ezra pressed a button on his wrist computer to summon the _Phantom_ to come gather those on the smaller speeder while the _Ghost_ came to get the rest of them. Slowly, they reversed up the stairs to the top level of the barge to await the arrival of their ship. 

All that was needed to set off the massive firefight was a single crate knocked over by a slave on their retreat. It landed heavily as it fell from the top of the stairs to the deck below, making a booming noise as it impacted the durasteel floor. Thinking it was a thermal detonator, the rebels opened fire. Jabba’s men drew their blasters as a last-ditch effort to capture everyone, and soon, blaster bolts were flying everywhere as henchmen, slaves, and rebels dropped. Jabba’s men started crawling through hatches on the top deck of the ship, flanking the rebels and forcing them back inside. Ezra and Ahsoka stood in front of the defenseless slaves and did their best to deflect blaster bolts back to their senders. Ezra quickly activated the other side of his blade as he leaned back on the Soresu teachings from Valkorion and Skywalker on the holocron. The twin cyan blades were a blur as he spun his hands and moved faster than a normal human could track to send the bolts in random directions away from him and his allies. 

Just when he thought all was going well, the Mandalorian guy from earlier tackled him with assistance from his jetpack. Ezra hit the durasteel floor awkwardly with a crunch and instantly felt pain shoot up his arm. Before he had time to fully recover, he felt a boot hit him in the gut and roll him onto his back. The man was on top of Ezra in a second and began throwing precise punches at his head. Ezra dodged and blocked the strikes as best he could, throwing up his forearms to absorb the blows, and swinging his head around to avoid those he couldn’t block. After a particularly hard punch was deflected by Ezra, a vibroknife sprung out of the man’s gauntlet. His arm was caught by Ezra as the man leaned all his weight and strength into impaling Ezra, and just as the tip of the blade began to poke his skin, Ezra summoned a massive Force push and sent him into the ceiling.

Rolling back and grabbing his lightsaber, Ezra looked up in time to see the man start firing his carbine at him. The accuracy and frequency of the shots forced Ezra to devote all his attention to deflecting his shots. The man rolled, ducked, and dodged as his own beams of plasma were launched back towards him. Next to him, one of the slave girls screamed in pain and Ezra instinctively. That was all the Mandalorian needed to get a shot off on Ezra’s leg, sending him to the ground with a burning pain in his thigh. Ezra’s lightsaber extinguished as he fell hard onto the ground. From his position on the ground, Ezra could see the man raise his blaster, ready to make the killing shot, but before he could, he heard Sabine next to him. “Get away from him you dar’manda piece of bounty hunting garbage!” she yelled furiously as she closed in on him.

Sabine opened up on him with her Westars as she closed the gap. The yellow streaks cut through the air and he hardly had time to dodge the strikes. She bellowed in rage as she jumped the last few feet and caught the man with a flying kick. He stumbled back and Sabine was on the offensive before he could recover. Sending strike after strike into the unarmored portion of his flank. Sabine made his ribs audibly crack as the punishment continued. The bounty hunter caught Sabine’s helmet with a vicious closed fisted jab that made her head snap back. She used the strike to her advantage when she slammed her helmet against his own, adding another small dent to the front of his beaten-up bucket. 

She wasted no time in using her vambrace’s repulsor to send him flying into one of the support beams. He stumbled to his feet and sent a stream of flames from his own vambrace. The psychopath almost incinerated some poor Twi’lek girl in the process, but it got him to his blaster like he needed. He brought up his rifle and sent panicked shots at Sabine who had her dual blaster pistols up just as quickly. One of his shots glanced off Sabine’s shoulder armor and dissipated against a pillar, he wasn’t so lucky. Sabine’s shot burned a hole straight through his chest plate, just above where one of his lungs should have been. “That’s not even real beskar!” she exclaimed in disbelief. She lifted Ezra with a strained grunt. “Come on big guy; let’s go.” Sabine hauled Ezra through the sail barge. Surprisingly, the rebels seemed to have pushed the cartel members into a retreat. As they moved up to the top deck; they watched Zeb in the _Phantom_ as he picked up Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando. 

Ezra’s group wasn’t as fortunate with their getaway. On the far end of the barge they heard a slow drawn out laugh. Looking to the source they saw Jabba with the remaining pirates regrouped and dug in around a heavy repeating blaster cannon. Jabba manned the cannon himself and unleashed a few high-powered shots at the rebels on the barge. The deck around them was turned into shrapnel as the hot plasma impacted against it. Several of the rebels were caught in the first few blasts, but the rest acted quickly. Diving behind crates, they started to return fire where they could, but were effectively pinned down by the better position. “Surrender now and your deaths will be quick,” shouted the man next to Jabba.

“We’ll never surrender to you!” Leia shot back hotly.

“It’s over, rebels! Your situation’s hopeless!”

Before anyone could retort, turbolaser fire impacted the section of the barge the Hutt was on. Ezra’s head snapped to the side to see Rex manning the nose gun on the _Ghost_. The ramp was down as Hera flew in at maximum speed. The rear of the barge began to explode and sink, knocking Jabba and some of his men toward the listing side, and the maw of the sarlac. Hera was to the crew as quickly as possible and everyone was ushered inside by Kallus. Ezra watched from the ramp as Jabba’s barge impacted against the sand, sending the remaining men tumbling into the sarlac pit. Ezra watched in equal parts of horror, curiosity, and satisfaction as the sarlac grabbed Jabba with one of its tentacles and ate him whole. 

Sabine helped him stand once again and brought him to her cabin on the ship that was their home for years. “Stay here,” she ordered as she walked off. Ezra sat down on the Mandalorian’s old bunk and waited for her, making sure to take in all the artwork he could never truly appreciate.

A few minutes later she came back medical supplies. She sat with Ezra, patching him up until she finished. “Thanks, Sabine,” he told her as she sealed the last bacta patch over the wound.

Instead of the ‘you’re welcome’ he had been expecting she looked at him concerned. “Don’t lose focus, Ez. I lost you to Thrawn and the Purrgil for years, I don’t want to lose you forever to some di’kut who gets a lucky shot.”

Ezra looked at her sympathetically for a few moments as he contemplated his answer “You won’t, Sabine. I’ll make sure of it.”

Sabine smiled softly and stood, walking to the medbay to return the supplies she hadn’t used. When she dropped the last of the equipment in the drawers, she noticed Hera leaning in the doorway with an eyebrow raised at her.

“Yes, Hera?” she asked impatiently.

“Have you and Ezra talked about whatever you want to call this thing going on between you?” Hera inquired as she folded her arms over her chest.

“Well… no, but-”

“Sabine, you can’t just ignore these things,” Hera interrupted. “He doesn’t know what’s going on. You need to talk to him. Tell him how you feel… and don’t pretend like you’re scared he’ll reject you or something; we’ve all seen the way he looks at you.”

Sabine winced. She had been hoping Hera wouldn’t look too much into it and would just trust her to work this out on her own, but Sabine knew the Twi’lek did a better job of understanding the young Mandalorian’s feelings than girl in question did herself. Deep down, Sabine knew that she could admit what she felt to herself, but not to anyone else, including Ezra. It had just been so much easier to kiss him anytime he tried to ask a question about their relationship than be forced to confront it. “I’ll uh… get around to it,” Sabine replied absently as she made her move to pass Hera and retreat to her cabin.


	19. Chapter 19

**Day 125, 3 ABY**

Ezra’s cyan blade caught the white one in Ahsoka’s hands and crackled as they were drawn to each other. Ezra broke the lock and spun away from the older Force user, jumping back as he made a low slash at her ankles. Ahsoka leapt over the blade and brought her own pair down on Ezra. He brought his saber up just in time to catch her in another lock before extending his hand, calling upon the Force to send Ahsoka flying across the room. The togruta played into the momentum and landed gracefully on her feet before using a Force assisted jump to get back in the fight. Her crossed sabers pressed down on his as she leapt over him and used the lock to propel herself directly behind him. He didn’t have a chance to turn around before she kicked the back of his knees out from under him, sending him to the ground with her blade at his throat. 

She extinguished her white blades as she extended a hand to him. 

“You did well, but not well enough,” Master Yoda stated from the sidelines. “Relying too much on strength you are. If you had avoided her attack, defeated she would have been. Focus more… Or lose your head you will.” Ezra resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the old Jedi’s criticism of his fight with Vader, even if Yoda was right.

“You’ve improved a lot since Malachor though,” Ahsoka offered thoughtfully to lift his spirits. “Keep it up and the Empire won’t stand a chance.”

“Yeah. Yeah,” he replied dismissively as he took her hand and allowed himself to be pulled up. 

Ezra looked down at his attire. In training they had tried to convince him to ditch the half-suit of ARC armor that he was currently wearing, but he wanted to be used to the weight and decreased mobility that he would have in the field; Rex and Wolffe had obviously approved of his choice. The armor had saved his life on multiple occasions on the planet her was found on, and even saved his leg from the Mandalorian bounty hunter’s blaster bolt. Now he was beginning to really debate the merit of the cumbersome suit. It was a tradeoff that he felt was worth it during his exile, but his new opponents were a further distance away and were much more plentiful. With this armor gone, he would the mobility to avoid getting hit, but if he did get unlucky, then it would be worse than just being slow with the added protection. However, in his mind he knew he always did well without the armor due to his speed and skill. 

He brushed his hands over the breast plates do get the dust off and faced his two new masters. “I’m going to lunch,” he told them as he hung his saber on his belt. Yoda replied with an approving nod and Ezra started down the corridor to meet Sabine in the mess hall. 

“Remember to focus!” Ahsoka called out from behind him. “Sabine wasn’t the only one who saw you get shot!” 

Ezra’s face flushed red in annoyance and embarrassment as he shuffled down the hall and past the staring rebel troops.

When he got into the bustling room, he quickly grabbed a tray and tucked into a corner booth with Sabine, hoping to be unnoticed by some member of high command looking to use him for some suicide mission. Right when he picked up his utensils and was about to eat the only enjoyable meal they served on board; he heard a familiar, annoying voice to his side. “Commander Bridger, Mon Mothma requests your presence.”

 _“Erskin”_. The senatorial pet or whatever he was called always seemed to find Ezra at the worst times, calling him in for some briefing on a mission that had nothing to do with him, and separating him and Sabine for a few hours.

The aide never knew how to take ‘no’ for an answer and stood idly at the side of the table while staring at Ezra. Not making an attempt to hide his groan, Ezra stood and followed him to the briefing room for another chance to die, either of boredom or the harebrained mission they were sending him on.

When he entered the room, he found himself looking at a projection of Imperial supply routes on the galactic map and manifests under the heading of ‘Operation long arm’ to the side.

“Is this him?” a blonde man baring a general’s markings asked the former senator as he pointed at the young Jedi.

“Indeed, it is, General,” Mon Mothma answered. “Commander Bridger, allow me to introduce General Crix Madine from the intelligence division.”

“Imperial Security said you were dead,” the general told Ezra curiously as they made eye contact.

Ezra nodded, but Madine’s eyes darted down to Ezra’s lightsaber, and the general shifted his stance nervously. 

“Erskin said you needed me,” Ezra said to Mothma as he ignored the nervous staring from the man on the opposite side of the table.

“Yes; we need you to help us discern somewhat of an anomaly…” Mothma gestured towards the hologram that faintly lit the otherwise dim chamber. “Our spies have indicated an uptick in Kyber crystal mining, although these seem to be much smaller than the ones used in the construction of the Death Star. Our tracking of their shipments has shown no increase in materials acquisitions, but we do believe they are using the crystals for some sort of weapon.”

“Well the larger crystals are unstable,” Ezra started. “They might be trying to utilize them on a smaller scale than the Death Star… But without an uptick in raw materials, I don’t think it could be another space station… Maybe something smaller.” Ezra stroked his chin as he went deep into thought. “Do you have spies at the Kuat Drive Yards who would be able to report on any changes in their production?”

“Yes, we do. But it will take some time to contact them, and to retrieve the data,” Madine answered. “For now, we have a new mission for you. We want to slow down the construction of whatever Emperor Vader is building until we know what it is. For that, you and the rest of Phoenix Squadron will need to start hitting Imperial convoys. Any materials you gather can be moved to a sympathetic ship works, but it’s up to you to bring it to them.”

One thought came to Ezra as he nodded. _“The TIE Defender Elite. We can still make those on Lothal.”_ Ezra thought about the fighter that was nearly unbeatable, and knew he had to keep making them. “Understood. I’ll start immediately,” Ezra replied slowly to hide his eagerness before walking out of the room. 

Hera had never personally flown a Defender, but from what Ezra had told her about the one him and Sabine had stolen, she made it clear to Ezra that she was eager to get behind the controls and test out the Grand Admiral’s pet project. So naturally, when Ezra told her of his new assignment, she had agreed to steal the doonium and durasteel required and bring it to their factories on Lothal. 

Ezra and Hera called the rest of Phoenix Squadron and all of Rogue Squadron into the briefing room aboard _Home One_. One by one the Rogue Squadron pilots filed in… Late as usual much to Hera and the other pilots’ frustration. “Sorry, General,” Wedge said as he came in behind the rest of his pilots with Hobbie. “I had to corral the rest of these guys.”

“Thank you, Wedge,” Hera replied sarcastically, hoping he would pick up on the fact that his job as the squadron leader was to bring them there AND do it on time. 

The pilots sat down and the seasoned crew of the _Ghost_ stared at them in a manner that could easily be characterized as ‘passive-aggressive.’ Most of the pilots chuckled at them quietly, not knowing that the Spectres carried far more experience in real combat and outranked them officially. “Quiet,” Zeb ordered impatiently after they didn’t take the hint to settle down.

“Thank you, Zeb,” Hera said sweetly before turning to the pilots and adopting a flat, impatient tone. “Our mission is to raid Imperial supply convoys; your orders are to disable the transports and cruisers and destroy the fighter escorts. We need these supplies to begin building ships.”

“What kind of ships?” One of the pilots interrupted to ask.

“That’s above your pay grade,” Ezra shot back.

Hera cleared her throat and Ezra gave her an apologetic look. “The kind that will help us win,” she answered in a more patient and motherly tone. “We’ll have boarding parties standing by to capture the ships. _Do not_ destroy them, the rebellion needs these materials. Commander Bridger and Commander Wren will be leading the fighter groups while I protect our transports from the _Ghost_ along with you’re A-Wings. After the escorts are destroyed, Commander Bridger will join the troopers on the ships to assist in their capture. Any questions?”

“Uh yeah,” one of Wedge’s pilots said curtly. “With all due respect,” he started, even though his tone suggested otherwise. “Why do we have to take orders from _them_?” He demanded, pointing sharply at Ezra and Sabine. “They’re kids.” Ezra looked at his new, least favorite member of Rogue Squadron and figured that he couldn’t have been much older than him and Sabine, but he adopted a smug look like he had backed Hera into a corner.

“You take orders from them because experience outranks everything,” Hera replied with a renewed sense of calm.

“Any _other_ questions?” Hera asked pointedly. There was no other noise in the room, and Hera let the uncomfortable silence drag on for a long moment. “Good. We move out in an hour. We’ll be making a stop by the planet Lothal before we start our run, so you can re-arm there, courtesy of the planetary government that these two freed,” she finished as she rested her hands on her hips and wordlessly daring anyone to make a comment.

Ezra and Sabine followed Hera onto the _Ghost_ and took them out of the hanger on the side of the massive Mon Calamari ship and calculated the hyperspace coordinates as the squadrons formed up on her sides. Right when the ship shuddered and entered hyperspace she turned around in her seat, preferring to look at them instead of the repetitive streaks of hyperspace travel. “By the way, you’ve both been promoted,” she said with a bland voice before she stood, gave Sabine a purposeful look with a cock of her head toward Ezra, and walked into the galley.

Ezra and Sabine looked at each other and exchanged glances, with only one of the two knowing exactly what message Hera was trying to convey. Sabine gave Ezra a sigh and fidgeted with her gloved hands. “So…” she started awkwardly.

“So?” Ezra asked with his curiosity peaking after she didn't continue. 

“Back when we were leaving Tatooine, Hera cornered me and told me I needed to talk to you…” Sabine told him nervously. “She told me I needed to talk to you?” 

“Oh gods… was she talking about what I think she was talking about? Because I don’t exactly… Well I’m not sure if… It’s just that-”

“No, Ezra,” She interrupted and allowed him to remove the proverbial foot from his mouth and just listen. “She wants me to talk to you about the nature of our relationship as a whole. Not… _that_.”

“What?”

Sabine sighed, this time in frustration, and pinched the bridge of her nose to hide her embarrassment and blushing face. “To talk about what’s going on between us.” Ezra looked at her with an expression that conveyed his confusion perfectly. Sabine audibly groaned at grabbed him by the shoulders. “Ezra. How are you so dense?” 

“You’re the one being vague,” he argued in a childish manner.

Sabine stopped for a moment to take a few deep breaths and collect her thoughts. “Ezra…” Sabine started as she gazed into the blue eyes that beckoned her to continue. “Do you love me?”

“Of course I do,” Ezra answered without hesitation.

“Good,” she replied quickly before rubbing the back of her neck and looking away from him nervously. She felt his gaze never leave her as she continued to avoid any sort of eye contact, only to realize she never said it back. “You know I love you too, right?” Sabine asked hopefully.

Ezra chuckled, earning a sharp glare from her. “Well I would hope so,” he answered with a smile. “It would be kinda weird if you didn’t, considering we share a bunk and everything.”

Sabine face got even more red when she took in his words. “Yeah,” she muttered.

They sat in the cockpit for a few more moments before Ezra broke the silence. “I’m tired. I’m gonna go back to our cabin and sleep.”

“Me too…” Sabine replied simply. 

Ezra’s face lit up with equal parts happiness and mischievousness. “I’m glad you said that,” he said as he stood and walked toward the door.

Ezra woke up some hours later with his arm draped around Sabine’s chest as the _Ghost_ dropped from hyperspace. He cleared his mind and opened his eyes to see the back of her head as she continued to sleep. The ship’s speakers crackled to life with Hera’s familiar voice “We’re here.” 

Sabine opened her eyes before processing the Twi’lek’s words and excitedly grabbed Ezra’s hand as she pulled him out of the cabin towards the front of the freighter. 

“Close your eyes,” she ordered as the pair entered the transparisteel bubble-style cockpit. Before he did, Ezra caught a brief glimpse at his home planet from the vastness of space. Gone was the Imperial blockade and burning surface formerly visible from the exit of the hyperspace lane, the puffy white clouds replaced the dark industrial smog being belched from the inefficient imperial facilities, and the massive plains that covered most of the surface were the healthiest that he could remember seeing them, with a rich green color that he could have never imagined on the small farming planet. Ezra leaned into Sabine as he shut his eyes and relaxed, knowing his home was well taken care of. 

The _Ghost_ touched down on a landing pad after following a pre-approved landing vector into the main spaceport. Ezra felt Sabine’s tight grip on his hand as she intertwined their fingers and led him to the ramp with excitement emanating from her Force signature. When they got to the bottom of the ramp, she stopped him, and pressed up close to his side. “You can open your eyes now,” she whispered. 

Ezra smiled at the contact and slowly opened his eyes so he could adjust to the light without hurting them. When he could finally see, a completely different skyline greeted him. “Is-Is this Capital City?” He asked in awe.

The city had changed over the years into almost exactly what Ezra had seen in his visions. The skyline had been cleansed of the hideous Imperial dome and other infrastructure that had symbolized the oppression and hardships of the people of Lothal. The plain, tan apartment buildings looked years newer with their cracks repaired and the surfaces refinished and painted to give new life to the old residential districts. His eyes wandered to the long bazaar in front of the apartments that he often scrounged in; the market was once again lively and filled with laughter, and the scent of Lothalian cuisine floated on the breeze to where he was standing before wandering out into the grasslands behind him. The vendors smiling at their customers and greeting them as friends once again. Some were doing very well with their farmland now returned to them, seeing as they were giving away some of their harvest to the children running between the stalls and giggling. He turned his head up to the city center. The Imperial style rectangular buildings that had marred the view of his home city from the tower were completely dismantled and cleared. In their place were magnificent white skyscrapers which clustered together toward the city center, but left a full view of the senate building that Ryder ran the planet from. 

Ezra’s eyes began to burn as tears threatened to leak out. He felt one roll down his cheek as he turned to Sabine. He wanted to express everything he felt to her; the nostalgia, the hope, the joy, the appreciation, and most of all his love for her for taking care of Lothal in his absence. But when he tried to speak, he couldn’t find the words that would make Sabine understand what he was saying and all that came out was a soft “beautiful.” Sabine turned to look at him now and reached up to cup his cheek as she caressed his twin scars with her thumb. “It’s so beautiful,” he whispered to her. “Thank you.”

Sabine stood up on her toes and pulled him in for a short kiss. After they stopped, Ezra leaned his forehead against hers and breathed in deeply, savoring her scent and presence. In the quiet moment, something brushed against his leg softly. Ezra looked down to see a familiar blue-eyed, white-haired Loth cat. It purred in contentment as it continued rubbing against his pant leg. The small animal looked up at him and made its odd sound before stretching and looking into the grasslands next to them. Ezra focused his eyes in on something in the distance.

“Is that a-?” Sabine started to ask.

“Lothwolf,” he finished.

Ezra closed his eyes and felt out through the Force towards the creature, only to be greeted by the same exact comfort that Kanan had sent down their Force bond so many times before. He basked in the feeling of his calming presence wrapping around him and warming him.

“Kanan…” he whispered too softly for anyone else to hear.

After a few more moments of reflection, Sabine ran her hand up Ezra’s arm. “Come on, Lothrat. We have a mission,”

He allowed himself to be pulled away from the hangar that overlooked the city and planes and eventually found himself walking through vaguely familiar halls along with the rebels that Ezra had known prior to his departure. Soon they came to a closed hangar bay door that, Sabine for some reason, had connected to the wrist computer on her vambrace. The door creaked open, and inside was Ezra’s gauntlet; now completely overhauled and modified with all the best systems they could manufacture on Lothal.  
“They wanted to do this as a ‘thank you’ for when you came back.” The long, sleek, and deadly craft was sanded down and coated in a gray primer which kept the durasteel hull from corroding in the warm air. The tool-covered lifts surrounding the seventy-meter-long ship suggested a heavy amount of work was done on the ship, and Ezra couldn’t wait to find out what surprises Sabine had set up for the Empire.

Ezra and Sabine walked inside with their fingers intertwined while the rest of the rebels turned back to return to their ships. They walked up the long ramp and into the large ship happily. The inside, much like the city, was in stark contrast from what it used to be. The troop rack was gone, replaced by a living area that would make long trips, and even residency, a comfortable option on board. The small galley had been remodeled into a moderate sized set up with the extra room given by the removal of the racks, and the drab interior had been sanded down to the metal and covered in the same primer as the outer hull.

“I figured we could repaint it when you got back,” Sabine said nervously from Ezra’s side.

“I’d love to, Sabine,” the Jedi replied as he ran a hand down the wall next to him.

The pair then walked into the cockpit, with an overhauled console favoring a fighter configuration instead of the original transport-fighter hybrid style. The co-pilot was now in charge of all weapon systems except for the pair of cannons on the front and an ion torpedo launcher. Ezra ran his hands over the much more simple console and read the aurebesh markings that had replaced the Mando’a ones, with some new buttons for a freshly installed stealth system.

“All right, Ez. We’ve got some convoys to hit,” Sabine reminded him as she sat in the co-pilot’s chair. 

Ezra sat in his seat and initiated the startup sequence from muscle memory. The massive engines rumbled as the vessel was lifted from the ground. He guided the ship out into the open air. The smooth, sharp, and unimaginably quick movements of the ship were clearly the work of some advanced, stolen Imperial research, and he couldn’t wait to turn it against them. They soon left the atmosphere and joined the rest of the team in space above his home planet. 

“All wings, report in,” Hera ordered as Ezra and Sabine slid into place above the main formation.

“Phoenix two, standing by.”

“Rogue leader, standing by.”

“Phoenix three, standing by.”

The rest of the ships rattled off their callsigns and status until it was down to the last two left.

“Phoenix leader, standing by… Obviously” Hera said over the comms, muttering the last word in clear disdain for what she viewed as a redundant protocol, considering she was he first one to speak.

Ezra looked at Sabine; they were the only ship that hadn’t checked in yet and Ezra was stuck. He couldn’t just continue to use ‘Gauntlet’ as his ship’s callsign. This ship practically wasn’t even the same one he had stolen from Maul all those years ago, and the way he saw it, new ship, new name.

Sabine faced him expectantly. Ezra considered his life with the rebellion, but what he kept coming back to was the way everyone seemed to think he had died at the end of the fight to free Lothal. “This is _Revenant_ , standing by,” he said through the communicator, stifling a smirk at the irony.

“Good one,” Sabine joked from the copilot’s seat as the cockpit was bathed in a blue glow from hyperspace travel.


	20. Chapter 20

**Day 135, 3 ABY**

The alarms on the Imperial class four container transport at the head of the convoy began to sound off as twenty X-wings, four Y-wings, one Mandalorian ship, a Corellian light freighter, and four U-Wings all dropped out of hyperspace directly in front of them. The bridge crew frantically began readying themselves for battle while the navigator worked through the jump calculations faster than they thought possible. Just as the rebel ships started their attack, they sent out the alert to the rest of the crew and convoy with hope that they would survive the battle.

From the viewport in the bridge, the imperial captain watched the red, tibanna-powered beams bearing down on his ship while the intercepting TIEs from the escort ships mounted a defense.

From the cockpit of the _Revenant_ , Ezra watched the X-wings begin to swarm the Imperial ships. Phoenix Squadron targeted the point defense guns on the Arquitens class cruisers while Rogue Squadron dealt with the escort TIEs. Volleys of red and green fire were exchanged as the Imps began to react to their attack. In this instance, the rebel fighters outnumbered the TIEs and definitely outgunned them; and with their two most elite squadrons on the mission, the convoy didn’t stand a chance. Him and Sabine watched as pilots easily outmaneuvered one another with spins, loops, and fancy tricks that he had never seen before as the imperial ships were slowly picked apart.

The Y-Wings started their attack run, firing ion torpedoes and ion cannons as they went along the axis of the convoy. The ion based weaponry functioned as intended and temporarily knocked out the power to the ships in the convoy with a shimmering that extinguished their shields and lights on board, clearing the way for the X-Wings to move in and assault the communications arrays mounted behind the bridges. 

With the main power out and the communications offline, Ezra and Sabine guided their gauntlet to the airlock on the side of the main body of the lead cargo ship. The U-Wing assigned to the same container ship docked at the next airlock and they opened their doors at the same time. Ezra was greeted by a hall full of stormtroopers with their blasters raised at him. He ripped his saber from his belt and ignited it just as they began to fire at him. Red connected with cyan and was sent flying back towards the source, striking down the first stormtrooper who’s aim was true. Using the Force, Ezra threw another trooper down the hallway, taking out another pair with the man’s body. 

Ezra continued to bring his saber around in his instinctual Ataru movements, batting away any blaster bolts that threatened him or Sabine. He continued his almost unimpeded advance down the corridor to the panicked movements of the attacking troopers as he threw them into walls or directed their own shots back at them. The final stormtrooper had been hiding behind a crate until Ezra got close enough and tried to make a move when the young Jedi was closing the already narrow gap between them. Just when he sprang from behind the crate with his E-11 raised, Ezra brought his free-hand up and toward the ceiling, pinning the trooper to the top of the hallway, and dropping him a few seconds later with the rest of the men sent to stop them.

The other group of rebels wasn’t doing as well. Upon their entry, two of them had been blasted by the already dug in troopers. The rest jumped to cover at the sides of the halls and began to exchange fire with the Imperials. Now, neither side was hitting the other and random blaster shots filled the hallway, creating an annoying stalemate. Delste peaked out but quickly ducked back as a shot from an E11 almost hit him. 

“Hey, Commander. We need some help over here,” he called over the comms channel to Ezra.

“You got it! Just give me a minute.” Anything beyond that was drowned out by the sound of a few blaster bolts impacting the small outcropping the rebel was hiding behind.

The rebel hoped he could hold out for a minute as the intensity of the firefight increased around him. After a few moments he noticed the amount of blaster bolts coming towards them had shrunk dramatically, but the sounds of the stormtroopers firing was more intense than ever. The rebel spared a look down the hall to see Ezra walking calmly, swinging his saber in tight sweeping motions to deflect the energy away from himself. Blasters flew as Ezra waved his hand and pulled it towards himself, soon stormtroopers followed.

“You know… You can help any time!”

The formerly pinned down rebels all snapped out of their staring and took shots at the troopers, carefully aiming to avoid hitting Ezra as he methodically cleared them. With the contingent of bucketheads cleared, Ezra and half of the rebels walked into the cargo hold while Sabine headed to the bridge with the others. An inventory droid to their side began to spout off at them. “YOU,” he started in the same snarky tone as AP-5 as he pointed at the group. “Are not on the manifest.”

Ezra summoned the Force and lightly pushed him into a closet in the side of the hold. Ezra and the rebels began to open the containers around them, finding things from Imperial credits to construction materials as the muffled protestations of the droid could be heard. Finally, Ezra opened the container in the center of the room as he heard a slight call begin to emanate from within it. He pulled out a long orange tube and unscrewed the lid. Inside was a large Kyber crystal, it was almost as long as his forearm and about as thick. _“What are they using you for?”_

Ezra jammed the lid back on and sunk the tube back into the container so it would remain stable. Ezra raised his communicator and opened a link between him and Sabine. “Spectre-5, we have Kyber crystals back here. What’s your status with the bridge?”

There was no reply from Sabine. After a few seconds Ezra opened the channel again. “Spectre-5, come in.” 

The comm was still worryingly silent as Ezra started to assume the worst. 

“Anyone on the bridge team, respond,” he ordered. 

There was nothing. Not even static came back. Ezra turned to his men in the cargo hold. “I’m going to check on the bridge team. Seal the hold, and don’t open it for anything.”

When he entered the main corridor of the ship, he noted the absence of the lights. Ezra pulled his saber from his belt and ignited it, making the blade cast a blue light through the darkness. In the distance he heard heavy footsteps clunk through the halls; durasteel on durasteel in slow rhythmic patterns. He tucked in tight towards the wall and extinguished his saber as he neared the bridge. 

Turning his head around the final corner, his fears were confirmed. All around him was Sabine’s team of rebels lying dead on the floor. Their limbs and necks were contorted in ways that shouldn’t be possible and very few of them had blaster burns. However, there was still some hope because Sabine’s brightly painted armor wasn’t among the corpses that littered the junction a little way down from the bridge. 

Ezra stepped over the corpses that littered the hallway, jumping at sparks being produced by severed wires before he collected himself and pushed on. There was bruising on some of the men that were lying on the floor in piles, and the thin coating of blood did not go unnoticed as it made his boots slightly stick to the floor.

“Go to the hold and make sure there aren’t any more of these pests,” the captain ordered from inside the bridge. 

The reply wasn’t organic in nature; it seemed to be some sort of droid language. Then Ezra recognized the patterns _“Imperial.”_ Thinking back to the job he pulled with Hondo on another container transport, Ezra remembered the Imperial security droids on board. They were tough to say the least. Blaster resistant armor, advanced combat programming, and powerful weapons. These rebels never stood a chance. 

The heavy footsteps started again as the droid clanked towards his position. “And you. You will be facing a blaster squad as soon as we get to Lord Vader’s fleet.”  
“Yeah… We’ll see about that,” Sabine spit out, obviously in pain. 

Just then, Ezra jumped into the room with his saber ignited and ran it through the closest droid’s chest. The metal heated and turned bright red as its sensors sputtered and went out while the rest of it went limp and tumbled to the floor. Ezra withdrew his saber and slashed out at the next one, bisecting it at waist level as it made a mechanical screech. He raised his hand and launched the captain into the wall of the bridge before looking back to Sabine. When he did, he saw the last massive droid closing in on her. Knowing he wouldn’t have time to make it there, Ezra raised his wrist and leveled it at the droid. The sensors in his gauntlet activated and Kyber fueled blaster bolts erupted from the integrated B2 battle droid weapons system in rapid succession, Possessing more energy than the average bolt, the Kyber powered plasma penetrated the armor much more efficiently, melting through the droid until it dropped to the ground with a loud clanging noise. 

Sabine held her hands out to him as a silent order to cut off the binders. The remains dropped to the floor as Sabine grabbed her helmet and weapons from the corner then moved to deactivate the security droids with the unconscious Captain’s hand. “They got the drop on us. We never had a chance,” she explained. 

Ezra just frowned. “Are you alright?” he asked.

Sabine nodded as she rubbed a burn mark on her chest plate and picked up her commlink. “We’d better call Hera,” she said as she switched it to a different frequency. “Spectre-five to Spectre-two.”

“Go ahead Spectre-five,” Hera answered sounding satisfied about something.

“Ship is secured. Casualties taken, but we’ll be under way shortly.”

“Understood.”

Sabine put down the commlink and slumped her shoulders. “I’ll go move the _Revenant_ onto the main docking port,” she said quietly. 

Ezra just nodded as he moved to the navi-computer and began to calculate the jump to Lothal. After Sabine left, he called the team leader that was still in the hold. “Make sure to disable the ship’s locator beacon,” Ezra ordered as he ran through the ship’s systems and manifest to make sure there weren’t any surprises waiting to kill them.

Satisfied with the state of the ship, Ezra launched the ship into hyperspace. After a few minutes of reflection, he went down to the cargo hold to inspect some interesting things he found on the manifest. Most of the crates were filled with things Ezra would never recognize but there were a few he did. 

Coming up to a pallet with one of his men his breath hitched. “That's a lot of credits," Ezra said as he looked at the golden stacks in front of him.

“Yeah but they’re Imperial,” the soldier replied.

“Hey, they still spend. And what better to spend them on than the downfall of the Empire?” Ezra inquired as he picked up the chips. 

“You got a point there, sir.”

Ezra moved on, pushing past the prototype weapons, other stacks of credits, materials, and riches. Eventually he came to a large crate that had been magnetically sealed and locked in a separate room. He was familiar enough with the technology to try and open it, so he plugged in a data spike and got to work. After a few minutes he heard a pair of light footsteps behind him. He reached out with the Force to see who it was without turning away. _“Sabine.”_

“What’re you working on?” She asked gently as she knelt beside him.

“No idea... Yet.”

“Need an extra pair of hands?” Ezra knew she was looking for a way to distract herself from the deaths that she would undoubtedly blame herself for. 

“Sure,” Ezra replied as he shifted to the side so she could access the other control panel and start inputting various commands to try and disable the security measures. The pair worked in a somewhat comfortable silence for some time before Sabine let out a shaky sigh.

“It’s my fault,” she said with barely suppressed sorrow. “They’re dead because of me.”

Ezra shook his head in adamant refusal. “No, Sabine. It would have happened no matter who was in charge. This isn’t something I’m going to let you blame yourself for.”

“But if I had just-”

“No, Sabine. You couldn’t have done anything.” Ezra scooted in close to her as he finished his side of the crate. After Sabine worked through the other side with shaky hands, the magnetic seal dropped, and the lock clicked. “Now, let’s see what we’ve got,” Ezra said as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation before leaning in with Sabine. 

He flipped the heavy lid, and inside were a metal ingots, dark silver with a swirling pattern and the Imperial crest. He vaguely recognized the material from his time reading about the Mandalorians. “Sabine is that-”

“Beskar,” she finished as she picked it up and rubbed her fingers across the shining surface. “This hasn’t been cast yet and beskar can only be found on Mandalore and Concordia. It’s also incredibly rare. To find this much…” Sabine trailed off at the connotation behind the quantity of Imperial beskar. “I need to call my mother,” she said as she stood quickly and walked away with the beskar ingot held tightly in her hand. Ezra used a repulsor dolly and moved the crate onto the _Revenant,_ already knowing where this call was going. 

**Day 142, 3 ABY**

After about a week, Ursa was finally able to get some important lady on the holo to talk to Sabine. Ezra slowly came out of his meditation and began following her Force signature he followed it through the base and found her looking at a hologram of the Kryze woman he had met during his last days on Mandalore. “-An entire crate’s worth… Enough to outfit a full company of men,” Sabine said, concluding their discovery when he walked in. 

The woman looked at Ezra with curiosity. “I thought he was dead,” she explained simply. “Then again, Jedi and rodents seem to always survive… Must be similar in nature, I guess.” Ezra stared at the hologram uncomfortably as Sabine looked at him nervously. “It’s good to see you again, kid.” The woman said as she took off her helmet and smiled slightly. 

“You too miss Kryze.”

Sabine looked away from the holotable as she sucked in a quick breath, mostly from embarrassment. “Ezra… She’s not only the Duchess of Kalevala, she’s the Mand’alor too,” she explained lowly in exasperation. 

Ezra winced at the revelation.

“It’s fine, Sabine… You can’t expect much from a Jedi. But it will do; I was half expecting him to call me Bo.”

Sabine looked horrified and couldn’t manage to speak, but at least Ezra could remember her name now… Bo-Katan. 

“Right well I’ll talk to the alliance about what we discussed. If it’s as bad as you say…”

“It is.”

“Well then we’ll be in contact soon.”

Bo-Katan’s image shimmered away and Sabine turned to him. “Do you have any idea how awful that was?” She hissed. “Bo-Katan is the leader of _all_ Mandalorians… ‘miss’ You called her miss Kryze”

“What was I supposed to call her?” Ezra asked with mild irritation lacing his tone.

“Lady Kryze, or Mand’alor.”

“Right… won’t happen again.”

“It better not.”

Following another incredibly boring debriefing that had no effect on either one of them, the people gathered began to slowly file out of the room. Ezra was almost out the door when her turned to see Sabine looking at him. “Hera, Ezra. Could I talk to you two?”

Ezra turned around to face her and was shocked at the nervous expression on her face. “Of course, Sabine. What’s going on?” Hera inquired gently.

“The Empire is attacking Mandalore and they’re pushing in hard on Bo-Katan’s forces. If the beskar that Ezra and I found is any indication… I’d guess that they’re destroying the planet with strip mines to take it.”

“What are you saying?” Ezra asked as he took a step towards her.

Sabine looked away from Ezra and shifted uncomfortably in front of him. “I need to go back,” she explained quietly.

“Okay,” he said confidently as he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. “When do we leave?”

“Ezra… Y-you can’t go,” Sabine answered with sorrow dominating her tone and Force signature.

“You don’t want me there?” Ezra asked trying to hide his hurt at the implication.

“I do. But my people… They were raised to hate Jedi. They’ll hurt you. My mother might actually kill you herself when she figures out what’s going on.”

“Well I’m confident you can talk them out of it. I’m coming with you… and that’s not up for debate. I already loaded the beskar and my stuff. We can leave whenever you’re ready.” He knew that if he expressed his confidence in her, she would take it as a challenge, and she never backed down from a challenge.

Sabine finally looked up at Ezra. The gleam in her eyes told Ezra all he needed to know. After a second of staring at him, she grabbed him in a tight hug. “Thank you,” she whispered against his chest.

Off to the side Hera cleared her throat to remind them of her presence. Sabine pulled away from him quickly and flushed red with embarrassment. “I’m sure I can get this approved, and even if I can’t, who’s going to try to stop a Jedi and a Mandalorian?”

Sabine beamed at her general/mother/sister/friend before quickly walking out of the room. Ezra turned to leave but was grabbed by Hera. “Be careful out there. The only reason clan Wren tolerated you before was because of Sabine and Rau vouching for you. I’m not sure the other clans will feel the same way they did.”

“I will, Hera.”

“You have to come back alive… Who else is going to train my son?” The blood drained from Ezra’s face as he stared at Hera in shock. “Yes… He’s Kanan’s… No, you can’t see him now. You have a mission. Now get going,” she finished as she shoved him towards the door. 

Ezra walked to his ship lost in the thought of Hera and Kanan’s son the entire time. He almost didn’t even remember to check for Sabine as he started to go through the pre-flight checklist. He was about halfway down the list when soft footsteps reminded him of what was going on. “Wow, you’re eager to go,” Sabine said as she sat down and proceeded to go through the weapons checks. 

Ezra chuckled in response, not willing to tell her that he had almost forgotten to take her with him. “Yeah well, I’m just soooo excited to see your mother again. You know how well we get along,” he said with mock enthusiasm. 

Sabine let off a choked off laugh in response. “Ezra… everything I said in there was completely serious. I’m not sure if you really understand that” she explained as she gazed into his eyes imploringly.

“I know,” he replied as he grabbed her hands and began to caress her thumbs.

“You don’t need to do this, Ezra… I won’t think any less of you if you turn around now.”

“But I want to... For you.” Ezra leaned forward and kissed her tenderly as she melted into his embrace. After a few minutes he pulled back slowly. “I love you, Sabine. Remember that.” 

Ezra began the takeoff sequence and launched into space as Sabine sat, contemplating the danger and his words at the same time. He entered the coordinates for Mandalore and leaned back as the ship jumped into hyperspace. 

“I love you too,” she said softly from his side. It was only now that he realized that she hadn’t turned away from him the entire time. Sabine stood up and grabbed him by the arm. “Come on… “There’s something we need to do before we get there. It will help keep you safe around my people,” she explained as Ezra stood from his seat to follow her. Sabine took his hand and pulled him towards the rear of the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Spoilers for the Mandalorian S2 E1 in these notes...**
> 
> I guess Boba Fett's armor is Beskar again? That's at least what it seems like in the newest episode of the Mandalorian... I'll probably have to swing back and change that later. Anyways... It's election day here in the US, so have a chapter for voting.


	21. Chapter 21

**Day 142, 3 ABY**

Sabine pulled Ezra out of the cockpit and through the narrow hallways of the ship. She grabbed something off the counter as they moved through the galley and then continued to the common area. She stopped when she got him to the center of the open space and took a step back to look at him. She stared at him for a moment with her finger on her chin, clearly deep in thought. “Strip down to just your body suit,” she ordered as she started to mess with whatever she had grabbed in the galley. 

Ezra looked at her strangely for a moment before complying. He removed the bits of armor that he had been wearing, until he was left in the skin-tight, black suit. He had outgrown the old clone suit and had it tightly hugging his body as he stood in front of Sabine nervously. He tried his best to not blush as he moved his hands to cover the more sensitive areas of his body. 

“Don’t be nervous, Ez,” she told him while she revealed a measuring tape from behind her back. “We’re eventually going to see each other wearing a lot less.”

He could tell how nervous she was by her tone alone as she slowly moved towards him while she unraveled a tape measure. Ezra moved his hands and let his arms fall to his sides while the rest of his body tensed. Sabine paused for an awkward amount of time as Ezra stood in front of her and became more self-conscious by the second.

She realized what she was doing and muttered a sort of distracted apology as she got to work. She took her time measuring _every_ contour on his body. She finally wrapped the tape around his rib cage and measured the diameter of his torso. “Done,” she said simply before she stood fully upright and took a step back. Her face was bright pink as she turned away from him and added the measurement to a list on her datapad.

Sabine walked off into the refresher. “We should be there soon. Transmit the clearance codes so they don’t shoot us down,” she ordered just before the door closed.

Ezra thought back to the first time he had met Sabine’s family on Krownest. The welcome they got was… unique. Getting shot down and held at blaster point while she desperately tried to bargain with her mother was a new experience for him. It only got worse when they found out that the countess had tried to give them to Gar Saxon in exchange for Sabine’s freedom. The only reason they weren’t there now was because of Saxon’s betrayal, not Ursa’s loyalty to her daughter. 

But afterwards it seemed like the countess was only indifferent to his existence instead of repulsed by it. And he thought about how every time she ‘helped’ was because it was the option that suited her best. She worked with them on Krownest to assure her survival, she sent a contingent to Atollon so that her explosives expert wouldn’t die, and she only allowed them to stay until they had rescued Alrich. In short, Ezra didn’t fully trust the countess or any of the more zealous members of her clan. Tristan was kind of cold and closed off at first too, and was clearly trying his best to play the part of stoic Mando, but after a few days of being around each other, he seemed to defrost slightly and treated him better than the countess had.

Alrich on the other hand… he seemed nice. Not like the typical Mandalorians that he had met when he was there. He respected the legacy of the Jedi as far as Ezra could tell and seemed to warm up to him much quicker than the rest of the clan did. In fact, he was the only person there who had ever uttered the words ‘thank you,’ to him.

Fenn Rau was trustworthy. But he had only proven that after he left him and Sabine to die on Concord Dawn. And the Kryze Mand’alor lady had never tried to kill him or anything. And as he thought about it, he realized that Alrich and Bo-Katan were the only Mandalorians who hadn’t actively tried to kill or maim him at one point. 

He switched out the armor for his jacket and a pair of pants to go over the body suit and meandered to the cockpit while they streaked through hyperspace. After a few minutes, the alarm sounded, signifying that they were approaching their destination. He readied the codes and powered down the hyperdrive only to be met with a large space battle in front of him. 

Blue and gray ships fought alongside gold and silver ones as they breached the Imperial lines above the planet. The cheaply built TIEs were blasted apart by the powerful Gauntlets and Fang fighters as yellow and green volleys weaved through each other. A pair of TIEs broke formation and streaked towards Ezra’s ship. “Sabine, get up here!” he yelled as green cannon fire was sent in his direction. With only the frontal cannons under his control, he did the best he could but quickly garnered more attention from the Imperials. More TIEs left their formations as they moved to pursue the new arrival. 

Ezra weaved in and out of their targeting scopes while his shields absorbed all the fire he couldn’t avoid. “Sabine!” he shouted in exasperation as their shields dropped below fifty percent. 

“On it, on it, on it,” she said quickly as she ran into the cockpit in just a body suit with her hair still soaking wet from the shower. She switched on the controls for the rear cannon as she began to line up the shots with the targeting computer. Ezra weaved in and out of the debris field of a wrecked Star Destroyer hoping to knock out a few TIEs while Sabine hammered away with the rear gun. Dodging an AT-AT that had come loose when the ship broke apart, Ezra curled tightly around a long section of the outer hull as he lined himself up with the TIEs in the rear of the formation. He took out two of them with the front guns while Sabine knocked one out with the rear one. 

“Here, let me try something,” Sabine suggested as she began to flip switches on the weapons console.

“Sabine, What’re you?” Ezra didn’t get to finish his sentence as a proximity alarm began sounding in the cockpit. According to the scanner, Sabine had just released a high-yield seismic charge from the back of the ship. 

“Ezra dive now!” she shouted. Ezra complied and angled the nose down and pushed the engines to their limit. Everything seemed to quiet around him before a deep hum reverberated around them, shattering any TIEs and debris in its way. The bits of the star destroyer were pushed around and took out the remaining TIE and sent debris hurtling in every direction.

“Glad that’s over,” Ezra said as they turned towards Mandalore.

As they flew closer, some of the Mandalorian ships changed course to intercept them. “Hey, Ezra. You sent the codes, right?” Sabine asked nervously.

“Uhh… I typed them in,” he offered with a shaky voice. Before she had the chance to chastise him, the ships began to fire on them.

“Haar’chak, Ezra!” she shouted as the yellow plasma began to hammer away at what remained of their shields and burned the paint with ion scoring. 

Ezra desperately sent the codes as he did his best to evade the would-be-friendlies who were currently trying to kill them. A few seconds later, the fire stopped, and the ships came up alongside the cockpit. Ezra looked to his side to see one of the pilots making the universal gesture to follow them in on a landing approach. He thought of his own universal gesture to reply with before sighing and falling in behind the other ship.

_“Add them to list of Mandos who tried to kill me.”_

Ezra landed in the indicated space and looked over to see a still annoyed Sabine who had her arms crossed over her chest plate. “You should’ve just sent the codes Ezra. All you had to do is press one button and we could have avoided all of that.”

Ezra looked down and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly at her berating. “Sorry, Sabine. It won’t happen again,” he offered, taking the chance to look up at her as he did.

“Yeah that’s because I’m going to be the one to send it from now on.”

Ezra gave up trying to improve her mood through conventional methods and instead chose to try and reassure her through the Force. Her shoulders picked up slightly and her stride somewhat, but he wasn’t sure if it was him or because her mother had come to meet her at the landing field.

“Sabine,” the older woman greeted simply with a slight smile. Her face turned sour as she looked over to Ezra, and for the first time since they met, Ezra was able to hold her gaze. 

“Mother, It’s been a while,” Sabine replied, trying to take her focus off Ezra. Ursa made a barely noticeable huff in frustration as she turned away from Ezra and shifted her focus back to Sabine. 

“Yes… It has,” she confirmed dryly. 

The tension in the air was palpable as the trio stood there at odds with each other. Thankfully, it wasn’t long before Bo-Katan came over to them. 

“Is it on board?” she asked as she took off her helmet and looked at Sabine. “We’ll need to get started right away.” The orange haired woman shook her head to free her longish hair and looked at Ezra with intense green eyes. “He’s not even in the robes and he looks like one.”

“Yes, it’s in the hold,” Sabine answered as she bowed her head slightly. Ezra took that as his queue to do the same.

Bo-Katan just gave a few short laughs. “A little late and heavy on the bow, kid. But you’ve got the idea.” She stuck her hand out and grabbed the datapad Sabine had been writing on earlier and handed it back to one of her escort.

The two men who had followed her over looked at her before she nodded in the direction of Ezra and Sabine’s ship. They ran inside and Bo-Katan turned back to the young owners of the ship. “Follow me.”

Ezra and Sabine complied and were led to a command tent with several other armored warriors already waiting for them. Ezra stood next to Rau while all the other stared at him. A spot was cleared for Bo at the control panel but before she could begin one of them men pointed his hands at Ezra. “Meg’s ibac?”

Ezra leaned his head over towards Sabine so she would translate for him. “He said ‘What’s that,’ which sounds pretty rude, so don’t expect much appreciation if she tells them.”

Bo-Katan turned to address the man. “HE,” she started pointedly, and in basic. “Is a Jedi who came to fight the Empire. And that information is not to leave this room.”

The man took the unspoken queue and switched to basic… for the most part. “I want his kad’au on my wall,” the man said in a completely serious tone of voice. Everyone Ezra didn’t know chuckled at whatever he just said he wanted… but Ezra could make a guess when he saw the man’s eyes drop to his lightsaber with a look of hunger in them. 

Rau and Sabine shifted uncomfortably next to him as Bo-Katan became visibly frustrated. “His name is Ezra Bridger, and for the duration of his stay, he’ll be under the direct command of Rau which will technically make him one of the Journeyman Protectors as long as he can complete the trials.”

“I still want his kad’au.”

“I’ve seen him fight,” Rau started. “And I’ve seen him take down more stormtroopers than you could ever hope to. If you really want to challenge him for it, then I’m sure it won’t delay the meeting too much.”

“He’s the one that destroyed the seventh fleet,” Sabine interjected. Ezra had been told of the legendary status of his maneuver on Lothal, and fame among other rebel groups, but he was assured that his name wouldn’t be associated with it.

The entire room turned to face Ezra as he started to fidget nervously. Knowing he would need to project an image of strength if he was going to be accepted by them, he collected himself, dropped his hands to his sides, straightened his shoulders, and looked each and every one of them in the eye. He received a few nods of approval from some of the people closest to Bo-Katan but most of the others just looked at him curiously.

“They said the one who did that didn’t survive.”

The looks turned from curious to suspicious in an instant, Ezra was on the spot and he knew what he needed to do. “Yes, well, clearly the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” he said in an even tone. “I’m clearly not dead.”

“We’ll see how long that lasts,” the man from earlier said as he turned back to face Bo-Katan. 

The meeting went on as planned, and Ezra learned of the poor status of the Mandalorian resistance efforts. They were being pushed off Mandalore with overwhelming force. A man named Gideon had been slowly pushing them back in a manner that was much more successful than the Saxon’s achieved, and his other ISB underlings were moving in on them with similar efficiency. They had lost almost a quarter of the surface to the Empire since they had begun their efforts to reconquer them, and they were steadily losing more ground with the ISB in charge. 

When the meeting was adjourned, everyone filed out of the room, but him, Sabine, and Rau were asked to stay behind by Bo.

“You know, you’re way too visible in those clothes. It alienates you even more.”

“Well what am I supposed to do? Wear Jedi robes?” he asked incredulously.

“No,” she said with a tone that made her impatience apparent. “You’ll just have to find another way to blend in. You did bring back a significant amount of beskar. I’m sure we could make you a set worthy of one of the last Protectors.” The last bit was dipped in humor at his appointment to such a position just because no other clan would tolerate a Jedi in their ranks. 

_“So that’s why Sabine took my measurements…”_

* * *

**Day 147, 3 ABY**

Days had passed since his meeting with the leaders… Days had passed since he was made to wait in the gauntlet for a set of armor that he knew was going to be skimpy and hastily crafted. Now, he went through his saber forms as Sabine watched from the side. “Appreciating the view?” he asked sarcastically.

“Yeah,” she replied. Through the Force, Ezra could sense her amusement but also attraction. “Maybe a little too much.” Sabine stood and crossed the short distance between her and Ezra. He deactivated the saber and tossed it onto a shelf near him, making sure it impacted gently through his use of the Force. Sabine put her one hand on his chest and the other on his shoulder as she gazed up into his eyes with a different kind of hunger than he was used to seeing from her. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her in close for a kiss.

There wasn’t much to do onboard the ship, so for the last couple of days, Sabine had kept him company, finding all sorts of ways to keep themselves entertained. Just as things began to get intense, Ezra sensed a familiar Force signature approaching. Knowing what was in store for him if they were seen like this, he shoved her back in a panic, sending her stumbling onto the couch. Sabine looked at him with a smirk on her face. “Eager?” she asked with a mirthful voice.

Before Ezra could explain, the rear door to their ship opened to Ursa, Tristan, and Rau. In Rau’s arms was a pile of shiny metal plates that he was cradling tightly. “I came to deliver armor to my second, but if you’re busy we can come back later,” he informed them after a few awkward seconds of staring.

Rau was the only one in the room who thought the situation was funny. Ezra for his part was horrified and didn’t need the Force to know that Sabine and Tristan were too. However, the countess was absolutely livid as she glared daggers at Ezra. Her frown was deeper than he thought possible, and her face began to redden in anger. Ezra used his connection to the Force to send waves of calm energy at the woman and hoped she wouldn’t know what he was doing. After a few seconds of trying, he noticed her breathing begin to slow and unintentionally match his. The red from her face drained and he felt Sabine’s stare shift from her to him and sensed her amusement. After a few seconds, Ursa just spun around and marched out without saying anything. 

“Uhm, that was… weird,” Tristan said as he looked between his mother and Ezra. “I thought she was going to kill you… I’ll uh, see you later.”

Tristan turned towards the door and followed his mother after casting one more sidelong glance at Ezra and his sister. He jogged down the ramp to catch up to his mother, leaving Rau alone with them. “I’m going to assume that was some of your Jedi magic.” The man placed the armor down on a shelf next to him before looking back at Ezra. “If you ever use that on me, I’ll kill you myself.” The tone was joking, and it was delivered with a slight smile, but Ezra knew better than to think that the Mandalorian wasn’t being completely serious as he told him. “I’m going to let you two get back to it,” he said while he looked between them, without another word the man bounded down the ramp.

The whole interaction hadn’t lasted longer than a minute, but the entire time, him and Sabine were frozen in place. She was still on the couch, lying on her back awkwardly with her legs half open towards Ezra, he was still standing right above her, although now his body was twisted towards the door. Thankfully, they were both still fully clothed, if you could count the body suits as anything more than another layer of skin. 

Sabine sat upright and folded her legs beneath her on the couch. Ezra walked over to the shelf where Rau had left the armor and lifted the set up. There was more to it than he though there would be. He carried it over to Sabine and set the pieces down on the floor to get a look at the full suit before he put it on. He was surprised to find a pair of Westar-35s and a carbine in the middle of the bundle as he pulled it apart. He placed the blasters off to the side and examined the helmet. It was a copy of Rau’s helmet with the thicker forehead meant for housing extra electronics and sensors. He had the same torso configuration that many from clan Kryze used but had a slightly larger set of shoulder guards that left a small gap between them and the plates that went over his upper arms. The forearm sleeves were much like Sabine’s had been in sizing relative to his body, but the blaster electronics on his Vambrace hadn’t been installed yet.

“I told them you had a custom one to put in,” she explained as she picked up his ARC gauntlet that had the B2 droid wrist blasters in it. Integrating the system would be easy enough, he had done it once before. And besides, it would be better than the regular mando one, and Sabine could help him this time. 

He set the vambraces down below the forearm guards and moved the knuckle guards beneath them. There were some plates meant to wrap around his outer thighs that he hadn’t seen before along with a set of shin and knee guards that clan Wren preferred. “You’ll need to go get a completely custom set of boots made,” Sabine told him as she examined the full set. 

Just as Ezra was about to ask her to paint it, her comm chimed. She rolled her eyes and answered it. “Yes?” she demanded.

Rau’s voice came back over the other end. “Don’t you even think about painting that armor as obnoxious as the rest of your art. He’s meant to blend in, not be a target. Just make him look like a protector.”

“Right because that’s a big crowd for him to blend into,” she replied sarcastically before her face instantly changed to an expression of guilt and horror. “Rau… I’m sorry.”

Rau sighed on the other end of the comm. “It’s alright, Sabine. Just make it look normal.”

Sabine put down the communicator and loaded her spray gun. Her face was twisted in guilt as she began to put the design down from an image stored in her helmet’s database.


	22. Chapter 22

**Day 150, 3 ABY**

Ezra and Sabine walked through the crowded camp as discreetly as they could, not that her armor was helping with that. After being redeployed to Mandalore by Ursa and Bo-Katan, her brightly colored set drew unwanted attention to his otherwise unassuming one, but of course it wasn’t very unassuming when people remembered all the Protectors were supposed to be dead. “Stop being meek,” Sabine whispered in basic, prompting Ezra to level his shoulders, which he didn’t even know he had down, and stand up straighter. They worked their way through the main line in the camp’s mess tent, receiving all sorts of odd stares from every angle. The pair maneuvered themselves to a far away corner at the end of a large, unoccupied table, and removed their helmets to eat. Just as they were about to take their first bites, Ezra heard booted footsteps coming up behind him, and Sabine looked up from her meal to see who was coming to bother them. Before whoever approached them could speak, Sabine scoffed. “Me’copaani, Tal?” she asked as she rolled her eyes.

“Me’ven? Ner jarkiv dar emuurir?” The Mandalorian asked with feigned hurt as he moved to the side of the table and leaned down heavily on it. Ezra noticed Sabine lift her hand, revealing a small earpiece just out of view to the other man. He used the Force to slide it under the table and into his hand before stuffing it in his ear while pretending to scratch his neck. 

He slid it in and activated it, just in time for Sabine to start talking again. < It never was, > Sabine stated simply in Mando’a as the earpiece translated it, before looking back at Ezra, who gave a subtle nod in response. 

< Oh, don’t be like that, > he replied in the same tone as before. < I know you regret never taking me up on my offer at the academy. >

Ezra saw Sabine’s expression morph into one of anger and revulsion as she glared at the interloper with a new fire in her eyes. < You’re disgusting, > she retorted with obvious abhorrence on her face as she put her utensils down. 

The man leaned closer, getting in Sabine’s face despite her obvious disdain for him. < I’m sure I could change your mind about that, > he said with a wink and a smirk. He started to lean closer, but before He got close enough for Sabine to snap and beat him senseless in the middle of the mess hall, Ezra grabbed his arm hoping to avoid a scene. < Whoa, big guy. I don’t go for other men, > he informed Ezra smugly as he jerked his arm away.

< He doesn’t either, Tal, > Sabine interjected.

The Mandalorian turned toward Sabine with a subtle drop in his bravado. < And how would you know, gorgeous? > he demanded as he built his wall of confidence up again. 

< Because he’s been somewhere you’ll never be. >

The façade he had going disappeared, and his face fell into contained anger. < We’ll see, > he replied before turning and leaving without taking his eyes off Ezra the entire time.

Sabine smiled at Ezra before she started to eat like nothing had happened. Ezra, for his part, was stuck wondering what just occurred, and looked at Sabine contemplatively for a few moments before he cautiously began to eat. The rest of their meal was filled with the same odd glances and stares that they always seemed to get, especially from the members of clan Wren who seemed to be piecing together what was going on between him and Sabine. When they finally finished, they dumped what remained of their packaging and left the mess hall to return to their ship to keep working on the vambraces he was given. 

They were about halfway through the camp when the same Mandalorian as before approached them in an open area. < I’m making a formal challenge to your claim on Sabine Wren, > Tal declared from across the small clearing, loud enough for everyone around to hear. Ezra turned to Sabine as the earpiece translated and shrugged in confusion. After a few moments of Ezra not responding, Tal spoke again. < Are you giving up so easily? > he asked in a mocking tone. Ezra shook his head slowly, not knowing how to properly respond in Mando’a. 

< Ezra… > Sabine started from his side.

< Then you accept my challenge? > he inquired as Ezra surveyed the crowd that had begun to gather. Ezra just shrugged slightly and nodded his head. Ezra didn’t much care for the attention the annoying soldier was drawing to him and knew it would get exponentially worse when the fight started. The Wrens in the crowd snickered at Ezra’s refusal to speak whatever botched Mando’a he could manage to produce.

Sabine sighed in frustration. < What are your terms? > she asked without masking her annoyance. 

< Anything goes… and the fight will be until _his_ death, > Tal answered smugly as he looked around at the spectators. < Tonight, after the evening meal, it will be held in the central courtyard. >

< Alright, > Sabine growled out as she grabbed Ezra and began to walk away with him in tow. 

< Why can’t your _Protector_ answer me himself? > Tal asked without stepping away from where he made his challenge. < Is he a little slow? I didn’t take you for the type, Sabine, > he finished with a laugh, although the crowd just started to dissipate.

< He just doesn’t waste his breath on inane conversations with an or’dinii, > Sabine shot back as they left the clearing and continued to their ship. 

They both boarded the modified ship and Sabine dragged him to the common area, where she began to check Ezra’s equipment and load his blasters for the upcoming fight as he sat on the couch in front of the holo. “Hey, Sabine. Hold on a second…” Ezra started as he gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the couch. “What the kriff is going on?” Sabine huffed and sat down next to Ezra and let him pull her close. “Who was that?”

Sabine sighed and melted in his arms. “Tal Kast… He was at the Imperial academy at the same time I was. He kept trying to get me to sleep with him,” she answered bitterly. 

“It sounds like there’s more to it than that,” Ezra gently probed as he stroked Sabine’s hair as gentle as he could. 

“Well, our mothers never exactly got along.”

“There’s no surprise there. The only person who gets along with your mother… is your mother.”

Sabine scoffed and half-heartedly batted his hand away. “Not in the way you don’t get along with her… They were trying to kill each other.”

“Well, I’m sure your mother is somehow trying to kill me…” Ezra trailed off and pulled Sabine closer. “I’m not joking either. I don’t want to start up the ship until we check it for explosives.”

Sabine kissed him quickly on the lips before pulling back. “She wouldn’t risk that… _I_ might get hurt.”

Ezra leaned in and returned the kiss more passionately. “That’s not very reassuring,” he told her when they broke apart.

Sabine drew herself away from Ezra, intent on finishing the conversation before they got distracted. “She wouldn’t kill you, Ezra. She knows how much you mean to me… Tal’s mother on the other hand… she would kill her own son if her leader asked her to. But she was killed just after the clone war, so we can’t just ask Bo-Katan to tell her to do that.” Sabine allowed herself to be pulled in for another kiss and allowed her hands to wander Ezra’s body. She felt his hands travel down her body and beneath her pants before he gripped her rear and started to knead it. She tried to explain the challenge as they got more intense. “He wants to fight you… If he wins, then-” Sabine’s explanation was cut off by a gasp as Ezra began to trail kisses along her jaw and down her neck. “Oh, kark it.” Sabine grabbed Ezra and pulled him down as she lay back on the couch, quickly wrapping her legs and arms around him. 

In all their excitement, they didn’t hear the door open behind them. “-Should’ve just killed Rook’s entire line when I had the-” the countess’ words died in her throat as she found them on the couch, locked up in each other’s grasp. The pair still hadn’t noticed the older woman’s presence until she had grabbed Ezra by the collar of his bodysuit and ripped him off Sabine. 

“Mother!” Sabine yelled as she registered the sudden absence of Ezra and appearance of Ursa. 

“What?!” she demanded as she dropped Ezra. “I don’t want to see this!”

“Then you shouldn’t just walk in!” Sabine shot back as she stood and fixed her bodysuit. “Why are you even here?”

For the first time since he’d known the countess, Ezra could have sworn she looked hurt by Sabine’s words. “Because Rook Kast’s snot nosed child just challenged this welp for the right to you.”

Sabine covered her eyes in embarrassment and groaned as she sat back down on the couch. Ezra, still slightly dazed by the sudden arrival of Ursa, went to sit down on the sofa as well, but an armored forearm caught him in the chest. “I never want to see you two on that thing again,” she snarled at the young Jedi.

“Mother-” Sabine started to protest before being cut off.

“No, Sabine. Not now… because as much as I don’t want to see you with this Jetii aruetii, I want to see you with Tal Kast even less.” 

Sabine rolled her eyes. “I get that, mother. But what do you think you’re going to do? Throw Ezra around until he’s too injured to even answer the challenge?”

“Well, actually I was thinking about just killing Tal and getting all of this over with,” she answered as she started tossing a detonator up and down like a toy. 

Sabine crossed her arms and stared sternly at her mother. “They would just blame Ezra… and seek retribution”

“I know… Is there a problem with that?” 

“Hey!” Ezra interjected, but quickly retreated when the countess glared at him. 

“He needs to win, and you need to back off so he can.”

The battle of wills between two of the galaxy’s most stubborn women was unfolding in front of Ezra’s eyes as Sabine and her mother went back and forth, mostly with Ursa insulting Ezra _and_ Tal while Sabine defended her choice. “I’ll just use my lightsaber,” Ezra reasoned loud enough to make them both stop.

“Are you stupid?” Sabine asked while folding her arms over her chest. “The entire point of you wearing that armor was so people wouldn’t know you were a Jedi.”

“Did he use a Jedi mind trick to get you to love him?” Ursa asked incredulously. “I would never have thought you would fall for someone so empty-headed.”

The two women took a break from bickering with each other to gang up on Ezra, prompting the Jedi to walk off to the cargo hold and pick through some of the supplies they had carried from Krownest. He could hear them faintly arguing in the background again as his previously rolling eyes settled on a long and narrow case toward the back of the load. He undid the latches and found a long sword, made from the same shining silver metal as Mandalorian armor was. He closed the case and brought it back up to the bickering women. “What about this?” Ezra asked without regard for their conversation. 

Sabine cocked an eyebrow at the case, and Ursa took a second to recognize the container. He opened it and revealed the beskar sword within. “ba’buir’s beskad,” Sabine remarked as she picked up the slightly curved blade. 

“Absolutely not,” Ursa replied as she grabbed the hilt from Ezra’s hands. “He used this to slay Jetii… I’m not going to insult his legacy by letting one use it to slay Mando’ade… even if it is one from Kast’s line.”

“So, you’re just going to let it collect dust in some box in our cargo hold?” Sabine asked in frustration.

“No,” the countess answered sharply. “I’ll make sure it’s used.”

“By who? You?” Sabine asked with a humorless laugh. “Ezra at least knows how to use one. You’ll swing it around like a club.”

Ursa looked insulted and slightly hurt by Sabine’s words before she schooled her expression and adopted a neutral stare. 

“Mother, we both know he’ll win easily with it. And we both know how much you want to see Tal get humiliated in front of a crowd, so just let him use it.”

The countess relented and threw the sword at Ezra, who had to use the Force to catch it without cutting himself. “Thank you, countess,” Ezra said politely as he looked over the sword. 

The older woman just sighed and turned back to Sabine. “He can’t use the Force in this, so just make sure he knows how to use the vambraces and blasters.”

The countess left the fighter and as soon as the door was shut behind her, Sabine was throwing Ezra’s armor and equipment, including the vambrace that was still missing the blaster at him which he quickly attached to himself. When everything was secured and ready, Ezra turned to Sabine with the beskad still in his hand. “Well?” he asked hopefully.

“Well it’s different from a lightsaber, so you need to get used to it,” Sabine explained as she fixed his grip on the old, leather handle. “The weight is distributed throughout the blade as well instead of just the hilt.” She moved his hands toward the bottom of the hilt and rotated it until his hands were in the proper gripping points. “Now, this only has one cutting edge, so be mindful of how you’re swinging it…” she trailed off as she took a few steps back and looked at his stance. “Since you don’t know any of the Mandalorian kad forms, you should probably use something aggressive instead of what Kanan liked to use… Sorosa or whatever he called it. Remember, we’re trying to make you look like a Mando’ade, so keep the Jedi acrobatics to a minimum unless you can make it look like the jetpack was doing the work.” Sabine picked up his helmet from his side and placed it firmly on his head before putting on her own. 

“Anything else?” Ezra asked through the helmet as he watched her put her own armor on.

“Bend your knees a bit more,” she offered with her head tilted to the side. “And don’t lose focus… You seem to do that still.”

“Lose focus?” he asked jokingly. “When does that ever happen?”

“Dagobah, Jabba’s sail barge, and training with Ahsoka.” Sabine watched him for a few seconds, picking up his subtle shifting and ticks that usually indicated he was confused about something. “Yoda seems to like to talk to me for some reason… he told me Ahsoka humiliated you in a lightsaber fight because you didn’t pay attention to what she was doing and just tried to muscle her out of the way.”

Ezra shifted uncomfortably as he played with his vambraces. “I wouldn’t say humiliated…” he said confidently.

Sabine looked at him and scoffed. “How are you so different, but still the same cocky kid that stole my crates?”

“ _My_ crates,” he corrected as he took a step toward her. 

“I’m so glad I decided not to shoot you in the head that day.”

Ezra stopped and looked at her as she turned around and checked her own equipment. “Me too,” he muttered before turning away.

“Ezra, block this,” she ordered quickly. He turned around in time to see a yellow training bolt coming straight for him. His hands and the sword were up in an instant, and he absorbed the energy with the beskar blade. “Good, now use the vambraces.” Sabine sent another shot at him and Ezra activated the small shield. “Alright, we’ll have to go outside for the rest of this.”

* * *

A few hours later, the evening meal was wrapping up and the star was setting over the barren horizon of Mandalore. Ezra and Sabine walked out to the central courtyard to see Tal waiting with a crowd of spectators gathering on the periphery. “Don’t they have anything better to do?” Ezra asked as he surveyed the crowd that was filled with the clans that made up the camp, as well as Bo-Katan, Rau, and Ursa, all standing on top of one of the buildings to the side.

“No,” Sabine answered simply. “They live for combat… and this will help show my clan that you aren’t useless.” She sobered up as she surveyed everyone watching them and finally, Ezra’s opponent. “Ezra, he won’t let this end until one of you is dead, so don’t hesitate when that time comes.”

Ezra was a little taken aback by Sabine’s advice. “Uh, sure,” he responded while making sure he was ready to fight. Sabine stopped when she reached the edge of the courtyard, joining the crowd as Ezra continued into the open area. 

< I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show. > Ezra didn’t say anything as he stopped and drew the beskad from its sheath. < What do you think you’re going to do with that?” Tal asked with a laugh as he drew his own blasters. Ezra shrugged again and readied himself for the coming fight, but thought he saw something familiar at the back of the crowd. He refocused his attention on Tal as the Mandalorian sent a volley of blaster bolts at him. Ezra used the vambrace shield to absorb the first few but switched to the beskad for the last couple of shots, confusing the spectators as they watched the curved blade take in the energy and repel some of it into the ground. A normal person wouldn’t have been able to catch the bolts with a sword, only someone with the Force could do that, but they didn’t know that, so it just looked really good. Ezra moved in as he remembered Sabine’s advice to be aggressive and used his jetpack to clear the distance between him and his opponent. Ezra landed short and slid toward Tal so he could sweep his legs out from under him, and separated Tal from one of his blasters in the process. Ezra was on top of him in a second and had Tal pinned with his knees as he punched the Mandalorian in the throat. Tal’s legs reached up and grabbed Ezra from behind before he was quickly pulled off his opponent. Ezra recovered and blocked the jab that met him as he stood. < I’m gonna have some fun with Sabine once you’re out of the way, whether she wants it or not. > He grabbed the next kick Tal sent at him and pulled him off balance before punching him between the armor plates just below his ribs. Tal recovered, pulled a vibroknife and slashed at Ezra’s neck, which he easily moved back to avoid. The Jedi didn’t let up as he grabbed Tal’s wrist and twisted it beyond its natural range of motion, causing the contender to growl in pain as he dropped the knife.

Ezra quickly followed up with a knee to his gut, and then an elbow to the helmet which dazed Tal long enough for Ezra to remove the man’s helmet and cast it aside. Another elbow met Tal in the face. A crunching was heard as blood began to rush from the now broken nose. The Mandalorian staggered backwards and raised his remaining Westar-35 to fire. Ezra tried to use his flamethrower, but instead, a cable came out from his vambrace as he realized he initiated the wrong key. Thankfully, the cable wrapped around the blaster and Ezra was able to disarm Tal completely. Ezra ducked beneath the stream of fire that Tal successfully sent his way from his vambrace and resolved to charge at the Mandalorian. He swung the beskad, catching his opponent in the thigh with a deep gash. A desperate blast from Tal’s vambrace repulsor was sent at Ezra as the man lost his balance. The wave missed Ezra, but the yellow bolt from the other vambrace was absorbed by Ezra’s shield. The Jedi sent the cable back out and wrapped it around Kast’s leg, toppling him over and pulling the man toward him. As Ezra raised the beskad he caught a glimpse of the same thing as before, this time up with Bo-Katan and the others. It was a translucent vision of Valkorion, who nodded at the same time Rau did, prompting Ezra to bring the blade down and into Tal’s neck without thinking, severing his spinal cord and killing him instantly. 

What Ezra found most odd about the experience, was that he felt no remorse for taking the man’s life. He looked back up at the building, noticing the white armored apparition was no longer present, but the three Mandalorian leaders still were. Ezra sheathed the blade before looking around to the crowd which he felt no resentment from, only acceptance of the outcome. He turned back to Sabine, who simply nodded once with her helmet on. A pair of men came out and retrieved Tal’s corpse from the arena, simply dragging him and his equipment away as the crowd dispersed. A moment later, Fenn Rau walked up behind him along with Bo-Katan as Ursa went to speak to Sabine. 

“Are you alright?”

“I guess so… but something’s wrong. It doesn’t feel wrong that I killed him, but I know it should,” Ezra explained as he looked between the two. 

“You’ll get used to it. You did nothing wrong, he was trying to kill you, but he failed,” Bo-Katan explained like it was just common practice. “That’s one area where the Jedi failed… They allowed those to live who should have been executed.”

From the side, Sabine and Ursa approached them. “I suppose I should congratulate you,” Ursa said with her hand held out. 

Ezra unclipped the sheath and beskad from his belt and handed it back to the countess. “For?”

“Not dishonoring this blade with Jedi tricks… And for rightfully winning Sabine’s hand.”

Sabine reached out and grabbed Ezra by the forearm. “What do you mean?” he asked Ursa. 

“That challenge was for your claim to my daughter. And because nobody else challenged you by the conclusion of that fight, any other suitors have forfeited the right to protest. However, our women can still protest her claim to you… not like that would ever happen.”

Ezra had to admit he was more than confused at what she was saying, not that the words weren’t registering, but just the entire concept seemed off. “People actually do that?”

“It is rarely practiced now, but in the days of the crusades, it was a common and bloody occurrence. Most realized it was more trouble than it was worth, and only the desperate still attempt to carry out the tradition,” she clarified. Ursa paused and Ezra could sense her discomfort for a moment, despite her outward appearance, before she looked at him again. “As much as I would rather not have you among my clan, you have proven yourself to be a worthy combatant even without your Force.”

Ezra nodded his thanks before the countess simply left without another word, soon followed by the Mand’alor and Rau, leaving him and Sabine alone. “Something about that just felt right,” she told Ezra. “Like he was supposed to die there or something.”

“I felt it too,” he replied quietly.

* * *

Above Mandalore in an ISB stealth craft, a live feed was being transmitted to the invasion force waiting just outside sensor range. Gideon believed the challenge to be the perfect time to ambush the Mandalorians with their reinforcements, but Luke held them off in favor of observing them and seemed like he knew one of the Mandalorians. The young Sith watched the fight with interest until the end and smiled sadistically when he saw a sword driven through one of the men. 

“He’s closer than he thinks,” Luke said aloud to nobody. Luke turned to Gideon who had been standing to his side the entire time. “I need to speak to the Emperor.”


	23. Chapter 23

**Day 153, 3 ABY**

Ezra was still getting used to the new armor configuration when him and Sabine had been sent on their first mission. For the second time this week he was reminded to his first visit to Mandalore. That stupid kriffing jetpack… _“I wish I had more practice,”_ echoed in his head. Now, he was in a similar situation with the vambraces he was given. The Mandalorian vambraces kept the blaster on the opposite side that the GAR ones did. So, on his first mission, he still wasn’t quite used to raising his right hand to fire it. For the second time that day, he had tried to fire on a trooper, but only sent him flying into the foot of a walker with a sickening crunch as he activated the repulsor instead of the blasters. He winced audibly in sympathy with the now limp man just before an explosion from Sabine brought him back to the present. 

His head snapped up to see the knee joint of an AT-AT completely engulfed in fire as the walker began to lean forward. As he predicted, the walker had fallen in a rather sudden way shortly after the knee gave out. The head and body came crashing down in front of him as the legs buckled. The heavy impact sent up a cloud of dust and smoke that obscured the barren landscape of Mandalore. Luckily for him, the helmet had filters that took the dust out of the air he breathed, and he switched on the thermal optics to try and find Sabine. 

He could see her lithe form walking towards him through the cloud. “Sabine, you alright?” he called out to her.

She walked out of the cloud no worse for wear and began laughing over the comm channel. “Did you see that, Ez? It was amazing!” she exclaimed as she got close to him. “I mean look at this thing,” she started again as she pulled a light up to shine through the smoke. The large gray walker’s head sat in front of them on the ground motionless. Not even the pilots were scrambling around inside; he could see their slumped over bodies in the seats. 

Ezra just chuckled at her enthusiasm. “You did good, Sabine. Real good.” This was the first time he’d actually seen something smaller than a starfighter take out the knee joint of one of these walkers, and while he usually would have felt bad for the pilots, he was thoroughly impressed by her ingenuity and explosives expertise as the cloud began to clear and show the extent of the damage. The completely mangled joint was a testament to their new weapon’s effectiveness. Sabine took a holoimage on her helmet to show the alliance so they could start mass producing the bombs she designed, and then the pair made a hasty retreat to Mandalorian lines. 

As they climbed onto their speeders, Sabine came over the comm channel again with her previous jovial mood completely gone and replaced with a much more somber tone. “Ezra… Do you really love me?”

Caught off guard, Ezra stuttered for a few moments before he could form a coherent response. “Of course, I do. Why?” he asked as he turned to her. She, as always, was focused on where they were going, not taking a second to look at him as they sped over the landscape.

“Well… In Mandalorian tradition, a lot of normal things are… Sacred,” she started nervously. “When my mother found us in the, uhm, compromising positions we were in the other day, that went back on what many clans believe in.”

“What? Me being a Jedi?” Ezra asked. He never seemed to think about it, but from what he learned, the Mandalorians hated the Jedi for a cataclysmic event that destroyed Mandalore… Actually, Manda’yaim as they called it, during their last major war. He thought it never bothered Sabine before, but found that he was usually wrong about how she felt.

“Well with us, you know, having sex,” she started, saying the last word quietly. “I mean, that’s something we’re supposed to wait to do until we’ve found the right person. Usually that means marriage, but I just don’t want to find out that you’ll eventually lose interest and move on,” Sabine explained.

“Sabine, you know I love you, and you know I could never hurt you,” There was more to his sentence, but Sabine cut in hotly.

“Ezra, you left. For three years you were gone while I waited for you. I don’t want to find out that you really don’t want to be with me for the rest of our lives. I don’t want to find out that I wasted all that time for someone who doesn’t understand how I feel. I don’t want to marry you just for you to disappear for years because that’s the only way you think we can win.”

Ezra knew when to be patient and now was the time. She needed reassurance and he was going to give it to her. “Sabine, what’s a Mandalorian marriage like?”

She took a second to respond. “It’s just repeating vows. It’s simple but it’s permanent, nothing can undo them unless it’s an extreme circumstance.”

Ezra took a second to process her words. Satisfied that there wouldn’t be some massive and complex ceremony that he could get killed over messing up in the slightest way, he turned to her again. “Sabine, I want to be with you through this life and into the Force. There’s nothing in the galaxy that will make me stop loving you.”

She turned to look at him as he matched her speed. 

Ezra turned to face her again after she didn’t say anything back. “When can we take the vows?” he asked in the most reassuring voice he could muster.

They were nearing the edge of the camp, so Sabine slowed down to stop before they got inside. She hopped off the speeder and took off her helmet as he brought his speeder to a stop. He took of his helmet too and looked at Sabine’s eyes. “Do you really mean that?”

“I do,” he replied simply as he grabbed her hands and stroked them with his thumbs. 

They stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments but were soon interrupted by the last voice either of them wanted to hear. “Were you successful?” Ursa asked as she walked around the tent that they were hiding behind. Sabine quickly dropped Ezra’s hands and turned to face her mother. “I would hope that you didn’t just waste all that time making a dud,” the countess finished as she turned away from Sabine to stare at Ezra.

“It worked, mother. It even brought down an AT-AT,” Sabine answered in a sassy tone, putting her hands on her hips as she cocked her head sideways. 

Ezra couldn’t see the countess’ face, but he watched as her fists clenched. He sent more calm waves of energy through the Force. After a moment, her fists loosened, and she turned to Ezra. “We may have a use for you yet, boy,” Ursa told him before turning to walk away. “Get to the command tent as soon as possible.”

The hardened warrior almost never failed to intimidate Ezra and bring his mood down, although he was getting more and more used to her cold presence in the Force and menacing attitude. Without a word, he turned towards the motor-pool and began walking the speeder back towards it. Sabine caught up to him, her recently soured mood somewhat recovering when he turned towards her and smiled weakly. “It’s not your fault, you know?” she asked Ezra as she fell into stride with him. 

Ezra managed to scoff humorlessly. “No, Sabine. I think she hates me for existing in the first place, not for anything I’ve done.” Ezra moved over to allow a man pushing a crate to pass by them as he moved in the opposite direction. “I read through some of the Mandalorian marriage traditions, most of them seem like they revolve around making your clan bigger, but I don’t have one for clan Wren to absorb. She probably wanted you to marry the heir to some other big Mandalorian clan, but here you are entertaining my fantasies… And to make it worse, I’m a Jedi. Your entire culture revolves around killing people like me.” Ezra knew how the countess really felt about him. She had pretty good instinctual mental shielding, but when she was comfortable, she would unknowingly let them drop. He’d sensed her thoughts about him across the camp a few times when he had been deep in mediation.

Sabine bit the inside of her cheek in thought. After a minute of contemplation, she looked at Ezra. “She’ll just have to learn to live with it,” she said as she moved in closer to Ezra. “Because, and don’t tell her this, but I love you too, Ezra Bridger.” Every time she had said it to him, his heart had melted a little, this time was no exception. He cherished the warm feeling in his chest that he got when he was around her, and those words amplified it tenfold. They dropped their speeders off with the deck officer and began the short trip to the command tent. “If she doesn’t think you’re worthy of me then we’ll just have to prove you are.”

The chance of succeeding was slim to none. Unlike Tristan and Alrich, who he was pretty sure liked him, the countess showed her disdain outright. Even though he didn’t like his chances, he looked at Sabine and smiled one last time as he opened the flap to the command tent. “You two certainly took your time,” the countess criticized as they walked into the tent. 

“We had to return the speeders,” Ezra explained. Ursa looked at him for a second and narrowed her eyes, this was the first time he had ever spoken back to her and she was curious as to where the new-found bravery was coming from. Ezra met her gaze with his own and decided to project his assurances through the Force to show that he wasn’t afraid of her. Ursa grunted before turning away and looking back to Bo-Katan so they could begin the briefing. 

Ezra smirked in satisfaction as he took his place next to Rau at the holoprojector table. An image of a large domed city popped up on the table before it zoomed into a grid style layout of the travel lanes. Bo-Katan turned to Ezra, “I know you’ve just returned from a mission, but we need you to infiltrate the city of Sundari and locate a rumored republic stockpile leftover from the clone war,” she informed him. Ezra went to speak but she cut him off. “Yes, you can take Sabine, you’ll be met in the city by a squadron who’s already looking for the weapons.”

“What exactly are we looking for? I thought we had more than enough blasters and detonators in our arsenal,” Ezra asked, wondering if there was something he seemed to be missing. 

An image of an old republic walker, much like the one rex was living on, formed in front of him. “Vehicles mostly. There should be a leftover motor pool from when they came during the Siege of Mandalore. We want AT-TEs if you can find them. There might be gunships and transports meant to carry the walkers down there as well. If you find them, activate this transponder and we’ll come to extract you and the equipment through the undercity.” The map of the city materialized once again, but this time the grid layout faded away, leaving only a labyrinth of what Ezra assumed were massive sewers. 

“Where do we start looking?” Sabine asked as she brought her hand to her chin. 

“We have a few points of interest; we’ll send them to your HUDs. Now get going,” the Mand’alor ordered before turning off the holo and tossing the beacon to Ezra.

Ezra and Sabine moved into the _Revenant_ and took off for Sundari flying low and fast over the wasteland. As they were moving over the ground, Ezra turned to Sabine. “You know, I really hated that red and black color scheme that Maul had going on. And I’m pretty sure Lady Bo-Katan did too, but this primer isn’t much nicer,” he told her, hoping she would pick up on the hint to paint the hull whenever she had a free moment. 

“What makes you think _she_ hates it?” Sabine questioned.

“The way she sneers at it every single time we’re near it. Wasn’t Maul the one who she fought against in the siege?”

Sabine sighed lightly. “Yes, he was. It was also Pre-Vizsla’s ship before Maul killed him. She doesn’t look back on her time with Death Watch fondly, this ship has a lot of bad memories for her.”

“Well, if it was a different color, it might make her hate it a little less. She seems to like your art,” Ezra knew the hint was obvious enough and just hoped that she wanted to paint it.

“If you want me to paint the ship you need to ask me… I’m not playing these hinting games with you,” she said bluntly while suppressing a smile.

He winced and shrank back slightly in his chair. “Can you please paint our ship?” He hoped the use of ‘our’ would get her still slightly sour mood to pick up. 

“Fine,” she said simply, although he knew she was elated. “We’re coming up on our insertion point, be ready.”

The ship began its landing sequence and Ezra left the Westar carbine in favor of his DC-15 with the Kyber crystal inside, which he decided to swap as soon as he got the chance. The pair walked into the dome through the old sewage system and followed the map to the other group of Mandalorians who were waiting for them. 

Once they approached the group, the leader came walking over to them. < Alor’ad, cabur > he said as he greeted them. Ezra had picked up on a few Mandalorian words but still couldn’t speak the language, Sabine had helped him out by installing the software from the earpiece on his helmet that translated for him and could generate his response so he could properly communicate. He activated the response generator program before the man began to speak again. < My name is Jaster, > he started as the program began translating for Ezra. < Over there we have Koska, Axe, Davin, and Bronn, > he said as he pointed to each warrior. < We think we’ve found the stockpile, but we waited for you to get here. If you’ll follow me... >

Ezra nodded once in confirmation, not daring to try and pronounce the complicated language as a response appeared on the screen. The group started walking through a long, wide tunnel towards the suspected location of the stockpile. When they were walking the one named Koska came up to Ezra’s side. < What do the protectors do? I heard they were all dead or something. > The woman was around the same age as Ezra, but she didn’t seem to know much about decorum. 

< Koska, stop, > Jaster ordered in a curt reply. He leaned over to Ezra, < She’s a damn good fighter, but she doesn’t know how to mind her manners very much. We grabbed her back in the clone war after her family was killed in the siege, she got her start a little late, but she learns quick. We are still trying to get her to speak before she speaks though, so please try to keep that in mind if something she says comes out wrong. >

They took a turn at the next junction and wandered into a large open room filled with the equipment they were looking for. Columns of AT-TEs and AT-RTs dominated one half while LAAT gunships took up some of the other half. Heavy repeating blaster cannons were lined up next to the crates of gas that charged them. Crates of detonators, jump packs, ammunition, and clone weapons were stacked high in the undercity and Ezra stared at everything in awe. Ezra thumbed the beacon switch to inform Bo-Katan of his discovery and then turned to Jaster. < Load it up, > Ezra said simply and in a low, raspy voice, not wanting to risk mispronouncing words. The Mandalorians obeyed without hesitation and began filling the cargo holds of the AT-TEs and gunships with the supplies before beginning the fueling process. 

Bo-Katan confirmed that she received the signal and Ezra let himself think that he might have an easy day for once. But as usual, the Force loved to mess with him. A call came in from another group that had been searching for the stockpile. < Cabur, there is a group of stormtroopers that passed us, I believe they are heading in your direction. >

< Understood, > Ezra started. < Get to your ship. >

Ezra walked over to the repeating blaster cannons and began to move it to the direction that the Imperials would come from. The one called Koska did the same but set it up on the other side of the tunnel, creating an effective kill box. Sabine, Jaster, and the others piled crates in front of them to give cover before Bronn climbed onto the mass driver atop one of the AT-TEs. 

The group waited silently for the Imperials to find them. A few minutes later, footsteps could be heard in a synchronized march. In front of what had to be at least four platoons of stormtroopers was a Supercommando and an ISB agent. Ezra felt the discomfort and uneasiness of the men as they grew closer. He looked over to the highest source of anxiety, Koska. The woman looked at Ezra and Ezra just did his best to project a calm aura of knowing as he slowly shook his head. Ezra put in a message for translation and repeated it through the group comms. < Not until you can see his eyes, > he ordered referring to the ISB agent. Koska nodded in return and gripped the handles of the blaster cannon tighter. Ezra patted Davin on the shoulder and gestured for him to take control of the cannon that Ezra was on. Hopping down from the vantage point, Ezra made sure to remain hidden as he moved for a clear shot on the leaders. He unslung his DC-15 from his back and took aim at the Supercommando through the crates they had set up. The ISB agent stopped and looked at the Mandalorian next to him. “I don’t see anyone,” he said simply. 

“This is where our probe indicated told they would be.” 

Ezra was satisfied with how much of the agent’s eyes he could see, so he leveled his blaster and squeezed the trigger. The green bolt flew from the barrel of the rifle and punctured the beskar perfectly. The ISB agent ducked behind a crate while the stormtroopers just looked around for the origin of the shot, then the men on the EWHB-12s began to fire. 

The red plasma burned through the air in a torrent of rapid fire from the EWHB-12s. They began to slice through the Imperial ranks with an efficiency that only Mandalorians possessed when it came to killing. The remaining men and Sabine began blasting at them with their Westars while they threw detonators at them. In only half a minute, they had managed to kill or injure a quarter of the Empire’s forces. The stormtroopers began to coordinate and fired on the crates with their E11 carbines. The volleys were continuously sent towards whatever troopers were dumb enough to duck out of cover, taking out even more Imperials. 

Ezra’s advantage didn’t last long however, remaining hostiles began to form up behind cover. Continuous fire was exchanged between the sides, both pinned down by the other. But the Mandalorians had one last card to play. On the one of the AT-TEs, Davin fired one of the rounds into a crate the Imperials were using as cover. The fragments exploding crate was sent into the men who were using it as cover, and the shrapnel managed to hit any who weren’t killed by the rolling crate. He began to fire wildly at the Imperials who couldn’t be hit by the men on the ground. Shot after shot was fired until they stopped entirely, Ezra looked up to see Davin hopping down from the melting barrel. The old machine hadn’t been cleaned in years, so naturally, the barrel had been clogged with dust and debris that each shot had to pass through. But they kept the Empire at bay long enough for Bo-Katan’s forces to arrive. 

When more Mandalorians joined the fight, the ISB agent signaled a retreat, walking backwards as he suppressed anyone who took a shot at him. Ezra and the Mandalorians began to evacuate the tanks and equipment as quickly as possible, making sure to be gone before the Empire regrouped and attacked again. He had to fly escort to the slow clone war transports that took the AT-TEs back to the base, and thankfully the trip was uneventful.

The vehicles were unloaded in the motor-pool and Ezra could sense the improving morale of the camp. When he walked into the command tent, even Ursa seemed to be pleased, well as pleased as she could be. It wasn’t a frown or scowl, so that was an improvement.

“You know, that was the first true victory we’ve had in a while,” Bo said in congratulations. 

“With these vehicles we can begin to prepare for our next campaign. Keldabe,” Ursa explained.

Rau nodded to Ezra and Sabine. “Get some rest, you’ve earned it,” he ordered before looking back to the other two women in the room. 

Ezra felt he had done well. He avoided using his lightsaber and made no showy uses of the Force while he was on mission. Now, him and Sabine walked towards the _Revenant_ until they received their next mission. 

“You know,” Sabine said when they got inside. “You made quite the impression on that mission.”

“What’re you talking about?” Ezra asked as he started to remove his helmet and other armor. 

“Well, Axe and Koska are both some of Bo-Katan’s best fighters, and they were both asking a lot about you when you were in the tank… Koska seemed to admire you.”

“Really?” he asked in disbelief. “What were they asking?” 

“What clan you were from, how I met you, if they could meet whoever trained you to use a beskad… and Koska wanted to know if you were _available_.”

Ezra’s eyes bulged slightly at how Sabine delivered her last bit of information, somewhere between teasing and threatening as she hugged him but had her vambrace pressed firmly against his side and he couldn’t tell if she was even being serious or not. “Well, I’m certainly not available in _that_ way. Did you answer any of the other ones?” he asked.

“I told them they would need to ask Bo-Katan more about you… If she tells them the truth, then I will too.” Sabine chuckled a bit after a few seconds. “And they asked why you didn’t talk too much…”

“What excuse did you come up with?” 

Sabine let go of Ezra and started to take off the bulkier pieces of her own armor. “I told them you were the strong silent type… You didn’t talk unless it was meaningful.”

“Sabine,” he whined. “Now I need to act like that in front of everyone.”

Sabine snickered and walked away. “You better start practicing when were around my mother then,” she teased from somewhere else in the ship. “I’m gonna tweak the controls to your vambraces a little more, I saw what happened to that trooper.”

Ezra winced as he grabbed a towel from the closet outside the refresher. “That’s probably for the best,” he replied before shutting the refresher door and turning on the shower.

* * *

“Well, Agent Gideon, it still baffles me on why the Emperor thought you would be the best choice for the subjugation of Mandalore,” Luke said as he surveyed the tunnel filled with dead stormtroopers and ion scoring. “The decision to charge head-first against an enemy position is arguably _not_ a good tactical decision.”

Gideon stood behind Luke, simmering at the younger man’s arrogance and condescending tone. “Our probe indicated a force of around four enemies wandering through these tunnels… We were ambushed by a well-entrenched defensive line armed with heavy weaponry and caught off guard. It is not a mistake that will happen again.”

Luke smiled even though the ISB agent couldn’t see it. “You’re right, it won’t… I have a plan for them that has been approved by my fa-” Luke quickly caught his slip-up and cleared his throat to hide it. “Approved by the Emperor himself. I want you to leak this to the Mandalorians,” he told Gideon flatly as he handed him a datapad with an Imperial depot outside of Sundari. “The plan is no longer to simply crush the resistance… We need to capture _him_ ,” Luke explained as a holoprojection froze on an image of a protector firing a DC15 at the Supercommando that followed Gideon into the tunnels.

“Him?” Gideon asked as he surveyed the shimmering, blue tinted likeness in front of him. “He’s a lieutenant. We’ve found their camp; we can end this pathetic resistance in a single strike. Why do we need him? He can’t be that important to the Empire’s goals.”

Luke turned to Gideon and smiled wickedly at him. “He is essential to the Emperor’s plans.” Luke turned back to the field of corpses. “Only after we have him in custody will we destroy the rest of them… for now, let them think they’re still in the fight.”


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a rush to leave my house yesterday, I accidentally posted chapter 23 again instead of 24. Should be fixed now. Thanks fo letting me know

**Day 166, 3 ABY**

Ezra and Sabine both walked into the command center to meet with Bo-Katan in regard to their first mission in weeks. When the pair walked through the tent flap, they were greeted by not only the Mand’alor herself, but by Koska and Axe standing next to her in freshly painted armor to match the colors of clan Kryze. “Ezra, Sabine,” the woman started as the other two looked up from the hologram display of an imperial building. “I need you to take these two and destroy an Imperial weapons facility. They’ll brief you on the way… Oh and Ezra,” she called as they were walking out with the Koska and Axe. “They know the truth, so don’t worry about dancing around it.”

Ezra nodded, but kept his excitement suppressed long enough to clear the tent. He jogged away from the group so he could go retrieve his lightsaber that he quickly hid with a cloth that he draped over it. He got to the landing pad in time to see Axe standing back next to Koska while an AT-TE was picked up by one of the LAAT/c that was in the massive stockpile in the undercity. They boarded a Kom’rk and took off toward their objective.

When their ship was under way, Axe stood and made sure the cockpit door had been sealed before he came back and stood in front of Ezra and Sabine, with Koska coming up to them shortly after. “So, you’re a Jedi?” he asked evenly through his helmet.

Ezra looked up at him and nodded.

“So why are you here?” Axe continued. Ezra felt Sabine tense up beside him as she slowly turned her head to look up at him too. 

“Go easy, Axe,” Koska interjected before things could go any further. “The Jetii is here and he’s helping, that’s what matters.” She shot Ezra a soft smile before stopping when Sabine shifted closer to Ezra. 

“Oh, please Koska, it’s obvious why you’re defending him… even if it is hopeless.”

The woman huffed and scowled at Axe’s helmeted face but took a few seconds to respond. “Just because it will never happen doesn’t mean I have to be bitter and rude to him.” She her head to look at Sabine and offered her a slight nod before looking back at Axe. “You need to learn to appreciate what someone is doing for you, even if you don’t like them.”

“Fine,” he grumbled.

“Okay then,” she replied calmly. “Let’s get onto the briefing…” after a few seconds of silence, she took that as her cue to continue. “Our target is this facility,” she said as a hologram of the large rectangular building appeared. The Mand’alor believes that they are refining stolen beskar here before shipping it off to the Imperial storage facilities off-world.” The hologram zoomed in on a landing pad and some sort of array behind it. “She has sent a group of AT-TEs to do the heavy lifting for us, but we have to take down this shield generator first.” The array began to blink and highlight the odd-shaped structure and dish that projected a shield that was protecting the landing pads and manufacturing facilities. “Once we take that down, the tanks will blast the buildings apart from a ridge a few kilometers to the east.”

“How are we getting in?” Ezra asked as he looked thoughtfully at the image in front of him.

Koska zoomed the image out again and magnified the perimeter. “We’ll need to get over a wall here,” she said as she pointed at a barrier on the edge of the compound. “The catch being that we need to keep our power signatures low, which means no jetpacks.”

“Grapples?” Axe asked.

“I can just throw you over the wall,” Ezra answered with a chuckle.

* * *

The Imperial facility wasn’t too far away from their base in the mountains, but they took a wide arc so it would look like they were coming in from another direction. The group felt their ship touch down and they filed out of the ship as the AT-TEs they were using for support were dropped off behind them. The ship that had brought them there, as well as the transports for the tanks, retreated over the horizon as the walkers were moved into position and locked into place in their assigned coordinates near the top of the edge of the rise they were using as a staging point. Once their communications were on the same channel as the gunners, Ezra, Sabine, Axe, and Koska all filed down the shear face of the ridge and began the walk to the arms facility.

The sun set behind them over the barren landscape and somewhat masked their approach to any troopers guarding the wall. When they got up to the perimeter, the group pressed up against the barrier and readied themselves for the trip up the duracrete face. Ezra was the first to go over, using the Force to propel himself to the top of the wall with grace as he balanced on the thin surface. The first one he brought up was Sabine, and he made sure to set her down gently on the other side behind a stack of crates. Next up was Koska, who was obviously uncomfortable with the unfamiliar sensation that wrapped around her and propelled her through the air. Axe for his part slung the grapple from his wrist over the wall and anchored it against the corner. “Don’t touch me with your Force,” he warned Ezra as he cleared the top of the wall and started down the other side. 

Ezra just hopped down the other side and joined the other behind the crate as they surveyed the area between them and their next objective. “We’ve got about two platoons of bucketheads,” Sabine informed them as she switched off her thermal optics. “I’m not sure how we want to do this.”

“I’ve taken out more with one hand tied behind my back,” Ezra replied. “With only that many, I say we just take the whole base.” Sabine turned to him and stared at the side of his helmet for a second before sighing and shaking her head. 

“Remember what happened the last time you ‘modified’ our mission parameters?”

“Uh… did we win?” Ezra asked after turning back to Sabine.

“No…” she deadpanned. “You dropped an entire station from low orbit _with yourself on board_.”

“Oh, yeah. Reklam Station.”

“Reklam Station,” Sabine confirmed admonishingly. 

Ezra rolled away and faced the ridge which was now obscured by the wall. “Purrgil to Baroness,” Ezra called out over the comms in the code words that had been decided on for the mission. 

“Baroness on. What is it, Purrgil?” a distorted feminine voice responded in a thick Mandalorian accent. 

“Interrogative.”

“Yes?” the voice responded curiously. 

“If we are able to capture instead of sabotage, should we?” Ezra asked as he turned his head to the others who were just staring at him. 

There was no reply for a few seconds. “Standby,” the woman replied.

Ezra sank back into the stack they were still behind. “have I ever told you guys that I just love _waiting_?” he asked sarcastically.

“You made me wait years, Ezra,” Sabine replied in a hushed voice. 

Ezra winced and internally cringed at her remorseful tone, but he was saved by the voice of Baroness a few seconds later. “The boss said to go for it if you can but wants you to make sure the shield is sabotaged first.”

“understood, Purrgil out.” Ezra cut the comms and looked between the Mandalorians. “We’re good to go.”

Before anyone could respond, he was up and dodging the searchlights as he ran to the main area of the complex. “I’ll go with him, you two need to make sure that generator is _down_ but still repairable for us,” Sabine ordered before breaking out from behind the crates and sprinting across the pathway and toward where Ezra went. She found him with a data spike stuck in a door control as he carefully twisted it until it opened without tripping the security system. Behind the blast door, the control room waited for the pair along with the room’s contingent of troopers and technicians. The Imperials were quickly cut down by the two seasoned fighters, who quickly made their way across the panels to turn off any potential security measures and scramble the Empire’s communication codes so the troopers were cut off from any others that would require a radio to reach. Sabine crawled beneath the panels and cut a significant amount of wiring out before discarding it underneath an Imperial officer’s corpse and calling Axe and Koska. “Were you able to sabotage the shield array?” she asked in a hushed voice. 

“Affirmative. We planted some of the old ‘droid poppers’ we picked up from the Republic cache. It should take out the power cell but leave the rest intact. And if we fail to take the base, there’s also some detonators stuffed inside for whenever they decide to recycle their shields.”

“Understood. We’re moving to the vehicle depot… If you see a walker moving around, make sure it’s not us before you blow the thing to bits,” Sabine replied as she moved into the hallway and toward her new destination.

“Sabine, wait,” Ezra suddenly ordered from directly behind her.

She recognized the tone. It was that one he has when the Force is telling him something, and by now she knew better than to doubt it. “What is it?” she inquired quietly while suddenly stopping. “Troopers?”

When Ezra spoke, his voice was hollow, like something was haunting him. “Sabine, I need you to detonate the generator and get back to the base with Axe and Koska.”

“What about you?”

Ezra shifted uncomfortably when she asked him. “Don’t worry about me. Just get out of here,” he ordered before turning to the door they were about to walk through and grabbing his concealed lightsaber from behind his back.

“Like hell,” she replied. Sabine followed him through the door, drawing her own blasters as she fell into step with him. “I’m not leaving you behind.”

Ezra knew there would be no talking her out of this, so with a resigned nod, he opened the door and had his lightsaber ready for whatever awaited them. The dimly lit room housed a mess of tubing, ducts, and wires that spun through the room in seemingly random directions, probably for ease of maintenance. They both activated the low-light vision function on their helmets as they crept through the eerily silent room. When they got to a small open area in the center, there was a single figure standing beneath the one light that actually seemed to cast a glow. Ezra and Sabine paused as they stared at their adversary, and the Sith stared back, focusing on Ezra in particular. “Took you long enough…” Luke sneered at Ezra. “Well then again, the intel took a little longer to get to you than normal, seeing as how you killed our last spy in a duel.” 

“I knew it,” Ezra muttered to Sabine. He felt vindicated as his opinion of Tal was proven justified. “So, what do you want now, Luke?” Ezra asked as he began to focus in on the inevitable fight. 

“Well… my father wants you to join us,” he answered bitterly. “I know it’s probably for the best, but honestly, I wouldn’t be offended if you declined.” They stared at each other for a few uncomfortable seconds before Luke decided to explain himself. “He said you get one chance. If you say no, I get to kill you.”

Ezra and Sabine scoffed in synch. “What kind of offer is that?” she asked. 

“The best one either one of you will be getting.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to say ‘no.’ Sorry.”

Luke lashed out and shed his robe as his lightsaber ignited and cut a path through the air at Ezra. All the tension in the room evaporated as Ezra ignited his own lightsaber and caught Luke in a blade lock. Ezra quickly pushed Luke back and swung his lightsaber down. Luke barely slid out of the way before Ezra could recover and tried to slash Ezra’s side. Unfortunately for the young Sith, Ezra had a double-sided lightsaber which he lit quick enough to provide a block to the strike that would have proven fatal. Ezra hit the red blade away and went on the offensive, quickly wearing down Luke’s guard with double the blades and nearly triple the years of training on his side. He followed Sabine’s advice and allowed himself to pour every ounce of focus into the battle at hand. Luke couldn’t make an effective counter because every time their blades connected; Ezra’s other was already on the move to his flank or Sabine’s blaster bolts were streaking at him. This continued as they moved through the room now illuminated by the clashing sabers and red hot slashes in the metal, however, it didn’t take long for Ezra to focus in on Luke’s technique and see the Sith was anticipating where his next strikes would be. Ezra played into Luke’s blocks, trying to build up the younger’s hubris. After a particularly hard swipe at Luke’s side, Ezra feinted another with his other blade, only to withdraw it and make a jab at Luke’s torso. The smell of burning flesh filled the area as the cyan blade burned through cloth and skin on the blonde man’s flank and cut him with a moderate hole in his side. Ezra didn’t waste any time, he knew for certain Luke wouldn’t be listening to whatever he had to say right now, so turning him back to the light wouldn’t happen, and since he had Sabine with him, he wasn’t really too keen on trying anything new. So, calling on the Force, Ezra shoved Luke over the catwalk to be found by the garrison later. 

“See what happens when you pay attention,” Sabine jokingly advised. “That went pretty quick, and you didn’t even get pushed into a tree this time.”

“Hilarious,” Ezra deadpanned as they ran out of the building and toward their insertion point. “Axe, Koska,” he called over the comm channel. “Scuttle their generator, full demolition.”

“Got it,” Axe responded. 

One thing Ezra like about the Mandalorians was their never questioning obedience in the field. As soon as Axe’s line was cut off, a massive fireball appeared in the center of the complex. The vivacious oranges and yellows licked the edges of the buildings and some of the fuel canisters around it, setting off a series of smaller, rhydonium fueled explosions around the landing area. Ezra and Sabine didn’t slow down to admire the explosion and kept moving toward the ridge that they started on. They found Axe and Koska shortly after jumping the perimeter wall and fell into stride with them effortlessly. The blue streaks from the AT-TEs reached them before the sound of the shot did, and the glow reflecting off the barren landscape in front of them told them all they needed to. With the base getting bombarded, Ezra knew the mission was pretty much over, and knew the Empire wouldn’t be looking for the power signatures of jetpacks at the moment, even if their scanners were still working. He was the first to activate his, with the others soon following. He looked back at the base, noting the main complex was still standing and the AT-TEs seemed to be targeting the production facilities on the periphery.

* * *

The rest of the mission went off without a hitch, as did the rest of the afternoon. Sabine and Ezra decided to turn in early that night and crawled into their bed on the _Revenant_ shortly after dinner and a quick shower. While the pair slept, Ursa entered the ship with one thought on her mind. It was something she just couldn’t stand to think about anymore, something she needed to fix before it got even more out of hand. She stopped in the door of the _Revenant_ ’s cabin and stared at the sleeping pair for a moment. With the low-light mode activated, Ursa could see their bodysuits and underwear scattered on the floor around the bed and fought back the urge to gag at the implication. She couldn’t see Sabine through the Jedi’s back but could see his arm was wrapped around her. Ursa drew one of her pistols, she figured she could get a shot off and be out before Sabine knew what happened, Ursa knew any investigation wouldn’t care enough to look deep and the case would quickly go cold. But right as she leveled the blaster, Ezra rolled onto his back, separating her daughter from him. The countess saw Sabine’s face fall flat and a frown grew as she unconsciously palmed around the bed for the Jedi. When her hand finally found his body, she pulled herself close to him and rested her head on his steadily rising and falling chest with a slight smile as she cuddled closely to his obviously warm skin. Sabine’s mumbled ‘cyare’ was almost missed as guilt swelled inside of Ursa. The countess thought back to her own youth when she met Alrich and his mother during some diplomatic event before Death Watch took a more active approach.

_**Day 74, 25 BBY** _

_Even though their discontent with the new duchess was growing, Ursa’s parents still accepted a diplomatic invitation from Satine herself to join her on coruscant for some sort of politician’s gala. As most of the large Mandalorian clans directly outside of her influence did, they decided to decline guards from the journeyman protectors in favor of their own clan’s warriors. And Ursa now found herself standing in full Beskar’gam inside the Coronet as she flanked her parents. Their Kom’rk disengaged from the airlock and left the rendezvous shortly after whoever else was getting on at this stop._

_They felt the large vessel launch into hyperspace as they walked through the vessel in silence with their steps muffled by the elegant velvet carpeting. Out of their group of six, the only ones not in beskar were her parents. < What a waste of Beskar, > the count said as he gestured to the large, unarmed flying palace they were occupying. < Wouldn’t you say so, Ursa? >_

_< Yes, buir, > she responded through her helmet as they continued into one of the larger corridors on board. _

_She came to an abrupt halt with the rest of her escort as they went face to face with a squadron of protectors escorting another family clad in tunics of elegant fabrics. Nobody moved for a few seconds as the tense stare-down continued. Ursa surveyed the group in front of them, they hardly even looked Mandalorian in her opinion. They were all weak looking with soft bodies and uncalloused hands. The closest thing to a warrior in the group were the men with sticks in ornamental armor that served better as statues than they did guards. < Good morning, > her father greeted the patriarch of the other clan. The older male in the other group was the first to move, but it was simply thumbing his nose up at them and walking around them without sparing them a greeting._

_Feeling slighted by them, Ursa stared at each individual member of the group, noting she was taller and more muscular than most of the ‘men’ that made it up. A woman muttered something along the lines of “Barbarian” in basic as she looked back into Ursa’s visor and kept walking. But one man at the back caught her attention. He had soft brown eyes and was dressed much more simply than his compatriots, she stared as the man walked by and offered her a slight nod, although Ursa couldn’t tell if it was because he was nervous or if it was out of respect. Nevertheless, he succeeded in holding eye contact as he moved past her, earning him a nod in reply from her._

_As the other group departed down a hall in the next junction, her own group started to walk again. < Ursa, my dear, > her father started as she turned to face him. < A group like that is what happens when the weak are allowed to rule. After I’m gone, I trust you’ll never degenerate our clan to such dishonor. >_

_< Never, buir. >_

* * *

_Ursa had excused herself from the uncomfortable dining room table, with the other clan present and still disregarding them, so she could wander the ship and get a closer look at what it had to offer. She paused in some sort of atrium and her eyes fell on an old painting of Mandalore’s expansionary wars with the Jedi and Republic. She walked over to the mural, removing her helmet, and setting it on a table as she observed the scene in front of her. The depiction was simple on the surface; warriors in beskar of all colors and patters engaging the Jedi invaders all wielding blue and green swords that seemed to glow even on the canvas. She noticed one with the symbol of her clan standing over the corpse of a Jedi near the front and felt a swell of pride in her stomach. Ursa unconsciously started to reach so she could touch the mural with her gloved hand._

_“You probably shouldn’t,” a voice warned from her side. Ursa jumped back and instinctually pulled a blaster while pivoting toward the intruder. “I’m unarmed,” he said with a calm chuckle. It was the same one who stared at her earlier during the odd ‘confrontation’ in the hall._

_Ursa chose not to reply as he walked closer and started to look at the painting as well._

_“What do you think?” he asked, gesturing vaguely at the mural._

_Ursa knew her basic wasn’t very good, there was hardly any way to practice with her clan on Krownest. She could understand the language just fine, but speaking it was something else with the drastic difference between it and Mando’a, and then her thick accent would make it all the more difficult to understand. “Good,” she answered quietly, hoping he wouldn’t ask any more questions._

_“Profound,” he deadpanned as his face fell flat. “But what do you think about the battle itself?”_

_She pointed at her ancestor stepping on the corpse of a slain Jedi as a group of Wrens followed him deeper into the fray with their silver and gold armor glinting in the soft sunlight of the scene. “I like it.”_

_His hand went to his chin in contemplation before he hummed in dissatisfaction and frowned. “The deeper meaning?”_

_Now, it was Ursa’s turn to frown. Art had never been her specialty, she was being groomed to lead her clan, not debate depictions of the past with pacifists. “Does it have one?” He laughed at her expense and scanned his eyes over the painting solemnly._

_“This painting is apologetic,” he informed her. “You’re not supposed to be proud of your people killing peacekeepers… it’s meant to atone for our past sins.”_

_Ursa scowled at the painting and then at him, but before she could respond, a woman spoke from the same entrance he had come in from. “Come now, Alrich. There’s no point in trying to explain art or acceptance to one of the mongrels depicted in our crimes.”_

_“Mother, she-” he started tried to warn before she raised a hand to silence him._

_“I’m sure whatever basic she does understand stops at simple greetings… they’re little more than animals, dear,” she responded. The woman started to walk over and sneered at Ursa’s shining armor. “Don’t let the intricacies of her armor’s design fool you.” She stopped between Ursa and Alrich. “This is not ‘art,’ Alrich.” She raised a hand and started to trace the patterns on Ursa’s breast plate. “The difference between us and them is all in intellect and diplomacy.” She grabbed Ursa’s chin roughly and tried to turn her head like she was inspecting the rest of the armor, however, Ursa didn’t allow her to and simply kept her head locked into place staring at her. “These types only know war and killing to match their stubborn pride.”_

_Ursa had enough as the woman went to grab the long braid her hair was in, grabbing Alrich’s mother’s wrist in a death grip, she held it as she responded. “You are right,” Ursa replied choppily in her heavy accent. “Touch me again and I won’t hesitate to prove it.” With that, she threw the other woman’s hand back down to her side and rested her own on her blaster. The two glared at each other angrily in a standoff that could only end two ways, neither of which was considered a win for the woman standing in front of Ursa._

_“My husband will be hearing about this.”_

_“Lady, I will kick your husband’s shebs.”_

_She scoffed in response and grabbed Alrich before leading him out of the room angrily. Ursa smiled in satisfaction before putting her helmet back on and disappearing to her cabin for the night._

* * *

**Day 166, 3 ABY**

Ursa sighed and holstered her blaster, already filled with regret at her half-cocked scheme to get rid of the Jedi. She realized after a moment more of observing that his death would only shatter Sabine’s trust in her family, and Sabine wouldn’t stop until she found out who killed Ezra. Ursa took the opportunity to slowly back out of the room while she still could, and then quietly exited the ship. Her daughter really did love him, Ursa decided; not just the strengths he had, and not just on his good days, but she loved his weaknesses and quirks on his bad days just as much. She hated every memory she had of Alrich’s own mother interfering with their relationship. _“I cannot do the same to Sabine,”_ she thought forlornly as she reached the bottom of the ramp.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 24 has been fixed... It's no longer a duplicate, thanks for letting me know

**Day 166, 3 ABY**

Ursa left Ezra’s ship and proceeded quietly through the camp as she got lost in her own thoughts and ruminations. She made it all the way back to her tent but Bo-Katan quickly caught her attention before she could make it in. < Ursa, I need to talk to you. >

The countess nodded in response and gestured for her old friend to enter the tent. Once they got inside, Bo-Katan took off her helmet and settled down next to the heater. < What’s up, Bo? >

< Why were you at the Jedi’s ship earlier? > she asked curiously before pulling out a chair from the small table within. 

Ursa knew there wasn’t any accusation in her question, but the woman would eventually find out the truth one way or another, so she decided to just be honest about it. < I wanted to kill Bridger. >

The Mand’alor’s eyes widened slightly in shock before settling into a resigned position that more or less indicated that she should’ve expected that to happen. < Did you? >

Ursa flopped into a chair across from her and took off her own helmet before giving an exasperated sigh. < No. >

< And why didn’t you? >

< I didn’t want to risk hitting Sabine. >

< We both know you wouldn’t have hit her… Your aim has always been true, > Bo-Katan replied with a neutral expression. < Maybe the unlikely couple reminded you of something? > she probed.

Ursa was starting to regret telling the woman about her rocky relationship with Alrich’s family, but with a chuckle, she quickly sank back into her memories.

_**Day 77, 25 BBY** _

_Three days had passed since her awkward encounter with the one named Alrich and his mother. She had been expecting punishment for it, but when her father confronted her, all he did was laugh when she told him and said ‘That’s my girl,’ before walking back to wherever he had come from. She had also been brushing up on basic so she could insult the woman more effectively next time they crossed paths._

_She sat in her small cabin eating a meal that had been delivered by one of the servants on board. All at once, the ship jerked to a stop as if they hit something and all the lights went out. Ursa brushed the now-ruined meal off her armor and tried the switch on her door but found that it wasn’t working, so with her curiosity taking over, she began to pull the door open with all the strength she could manage. She squeezed through the gap she had made and started down the hall with her hands close to her blaster pistols._

_The first person she found just had to be Alrich as he sat slumped against one of the halls of a junction and rubbed the lump that was forming on the back of his head. “Alrich,” she whispered. He didn’t respond so she got closer to him and knelt next to him after checking the area around them for any danger. “Alrich,” Ursa repeated. He kept rubbing the back of his head like he hadn’t even heard her. She moved his hand away and felt the lump herself, getting a sharp inhale and a glare from the man on the ground. Looking down, she noticed he was looking at her like she was unfamiliar. “Don’t touch. You’ll be fine,” she advised coldly. “It can’t be that bad.”_

_“Easy for you to say… You’ve got a bucket,” he replied as he poked the center of her visor. He seemed disoriented as his pupils stayed unevenly dilated in the low emergency lighting. She smiled at his seemingly drunken behavior and took her helmet off. He opened his eyes marginally in surprise before giving her a lopsided grin. “But you’re a lot prettier without it,” Alrich informed her with what she assumed was his attempt at flirtation. Still, she felt her cheeks get hot and couldn’t help but to roll her eyes at him._

_“Let’s go,” she said as she picked up her helmet and then hauled him to his feet._

_“You’re a really strong lady.” Alrich wrapped his arm around her and held himself close to her cold suit of armor._

_“Thanks,” Ursa muttered. “I’m gonna take you to medical and go see what happened to the ship.”_

_“Why don’t you take me back to your cabin and let someone else find out what happened to the Coronet?” he asked in that same flirtatious tone as before as he let a hand fall on her breast plate for ‘support.’_

_Beyond the surface level disgust she was feeling, Ursa was debating whether or not she’d actually like that, and whether or not she should kill him for taking such liberties. He seemed nice enough and was probably the first man she’d met who could hold her gaze without faltering and he seemed rather charming. “We’ll see about that later,” she told Alrich without really thinking about it._

_“Cool,” he replied. They staggered down the hall for another moment before Ursa heard a noise and froze. A clanking down the hall could be heard as a piece of the ship’s outer hull was cut away and dropped inside heavily. A light was aimed in as a group of men dropped in and started to look around their immediate area. “Uh oh,” Alrich muttered as Ursa hid him against a wall next to a blast door where they couldn’t see him and then made for her own place to wait for them across the passageway._

_“We’re gonna be rich,” one of them exclaimed. Ursa peeked out and saw the man had one of the decorative vases in his hand._

_“That’s a fake, you idiot,” Alrich muttered as he crawled out and looked down the hall at them. Ursa’s head whipped around to look at him_

_“You hear somethin’?” one of the intruders asked his friends._

_“Get back,” she hissed at Alrich._

_“Hey, I’m just saying,” the apparent vase aficionado replied as he held his hands up in mock surrender and slumped back against the wall._

_“Yeah, I definitely heard something,” one of the others replied. “Down here.” One of the lights was aimed down the hall as the group advanced._

_Alrich looked up at Ursa and then back to the men for a few seconds before switching back to her. “Well, there’s two of you and like ten of them… I’m sure you’ve got this.”_

_“Two of me? Oh kriff, you’re seeing double, di’kut,” she muttered before drawing a blaster and readying herself. Alrich had already settled back against the wall and was looking dumb and happy as he sat there, staring at Ursa appreciatively._

_Right when the first one of the men entered their section of hallway, Ursa lunged out and pushed his blaster down. Before any of the others could react, she raised her own blaster pistol and shot the man next to him before head-butting her human shield. The remaining ones didn’t hesitate in killing their friend to get the Mandalorian but made the mistake of assuming the warriors were overrated in their ability. She was able to use her vambrace to grapple one by the ankles and pull him over, leaving just one of them still standing. The last intruder was ready and took a swing at Ursa’s helmet. She flinched at the impact but quickly brought her own fist around, connecting it with the side of his bare head. The fight was over quicker than it began, and she holstered her blaster with a satisfied sigh. “That was really hot,” Alrich told her from his hiding place behind her._

_Ursa was too stunned to respond and quickly started looking over the bodies to see who these people were. She looked down and immediately noticed one of the men was missing, but before she had the chance to wonder where he was, a single blaster shot rang out and a body thumped hard against the ground directly behind her. She looked over at Alrich with the cheap blaster one of the men was carrying before he dropped it in disgust and looked at the man he had just killed. “I thought you were seeing double,” Ursa said curiously._

_Alrich nodded and hummed in affirmation with a smile on his face._

_“And you still shot?”_

_“Well it was either that or he killed you, and I couldn’t let such a pretty woman die in such an undignified way.”_

_“I thought you were one of those pacifists.”_

_“Huh,” he said flatly in consideration. “I think you’re right… Oh man, my mother’s gonna kill me if she finds out.”_

_Ursa took off her helmet and smiled down at him. “It can be our little secret,” she said sultrily with a wink._

* * *

**Day 166, 3 ABY**

< Maybe, > Ursa answered in Mando’a.

< Well at least you won’t have to convince Ezra’s parents to evacuate their home… I still remember when you did that to Alrich’s. >

Despite the callousness of Bo’s joke, Ursa couldn’t help but chuckle. < His mother really was an or’dinii, > she confirmed as she ran her hand through her hair. < I still remember finding them in the siege. >

_**Day 204, 19 BBY** _

_Ursa stood with Bo-Katan above the city streets of Sundari. With Almec arrested and the Supercommandos chased away, all that remained was capturing Maul._

_< Are you sure, Ursa? > Bo asked looking curiously at her friend. < Alrich wouldn’t even know if you didn’t try. >_

_< Maybe, but I would. I can’t just lie to him like that. > She continued to scan the crowd from a distance. _

_< Well, good luck then. I’m going to get Maul with Tano. >_

_Ursa grunted in acknowledgement as she continued to look through the crowd with a pair of borrowed macrobinoculars. She took her eyes off the device to respond but found that Bo-Katan was already departing. With no reason to stay on the balcony, Ursa activated her jetpack so she could get a closer look at the people in the crowd._

* * *

_Sanna moved through the caravan of refugees with her head hidden beneath a cloak. All around her were the Republic’s troopers and the mongrels who brought war back to Sundari. She was still in disbelief that her own son chose to run off with one of them instead of agreeing to one of the much more preferred marriages she and her husband had set up. She had half a mind to walk up to one of those bearing the mark of clan Wren and just explode on the soldier, but she kept her head down and remained determined to uphold her pacifist principals. Her husband walked beside her, lending support as their lives were once again getting turned upside down by a civil war that they had no stake in. She heard a jetpack above her shortly before it cut off somewhere up the path. “Is that Ursa?” her husband asked quietly._

_She spared a glance at the warrior who had just landed a few meters in front of them and was surveying the crowd. She could still see the heat distorting the air as the jetpack’s thrusters cooled. The woman had her helmet hooked under her right arm. She had certainly matured in the years since they had last seen her and Alrich before she brought him to live on Krownest with her family. Their eyes locked for less than a second, but Sanna already knew she had been made. “Darro, we need to go faster,” she insisted as she nudged her husband’s shoulder. Deep inside however, she knew it was too late._

_A few seconds later her and her husband’s arms were grabbed by two of the terrorists and pulled to the side. “Alor Wren requests presence,” one of them said in broken basic as they were dragged away._

_“You’re not giving us much choice in the matter,” her husband argued while still struggling in their grip._

_“Correct.”_

_They were hauled behind a small medical station set up by the clones and were swiftly deposited into Ursa’s custody. Sanna stood instantly and looked at the woman with a seething hatred. “Where’s my son?” she demanded._

_A bitter scowl formed on Ursa’s face. “You don’t have a son. Remember?” the scathing remark shook Sanna to her core. Truly, disowning Alrich was one of her greatest regrets, but she wouldn’t dare admit defeat to someone as barbaric as Ursa Wren. “However, my husband,” she emphasized, “Is on Krownest with our daughter.”_

_Everything suddenly made a lot more sense; she couldn’t image Alrich going with Ursa for any other reason than she had gotten pregnant with his child, although that wasn’t a thought she wanted in her head at the moment. “What do you want from us?”_

_“I want nothing to do with you,” she explained bitterly. “But Alrich wanted me to make sure you were safe… for some reason, he still cares for your wellbeing, despite the feeling not being mutual.”_

_Each word and insult spoken cut Sanna deeper. “Why did you pull us aside then? Away from the shelters?”_

_“Because there’s only one way I can guarantee your safety,” Ursa explained simply. Sanna spared a look up at the woman who just nodded at the men who had escorted them from the crowd. The two began dragging them further away and she was on the verge of panic until they were brough aboard a loaded cargo transport with an obvious destination._

**Day 166, 3 ABY**

Bo-Katan was listening attentively to Ursa as she continued. < Well, what happened after she was on the ship? >

Ursa got a devilish smirk as she poured another shot of tihaar. < She refused to let the ship take off until she could get her coat. >

< She sounds delightful, > Bo deadpanned.

< Oh well, I’m sure you remember all the mess that caused. >

Bo-Katan thought back hard through her buzzed haze and tried her best to recall the closing day of the siege. It came to her slowly after a few moments of recollection. < We had three days of cargo delays because of a disruption from Alrich’s mommy? > she mocked with a lighthearted chuckle.

< She seems to be the only woman who ever came close to being as stubborn as I, > Ursa declared with pride.

< I’m glad you at least know you’re stubborn. >

Ursa laughed and nodded as the alcohol started to take effect. < The stubbornest… I refused to get her a coat. I made that bitch suffer for what she did to my cyare. >

< You made her go to Krownest in whatever clothes she had on? That frozen haran could make a wampa shiver, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. >

< Alrich was almost broken because of that. The only thing that kept him going was Sabine… And me of course. >

Bo-Katan sighed as she looked at the slightly younger woman. < You got lucky finding Alrich like that. Sometimes I wish I had a man like him, > she admitted with a twinge of regret.

< What do you mean? You have Fenn Rau two tents away… >

She blushed furiously. < Ursa, > she replied with a groan. She just laughed at Bo, but the Mand’alor wouldn’t be beaten in this battle. < And I suppose Sabine has her dear little Ez’ika. >

Ursa stopped laughing for a few seconds. < I guess she does… Although he’s not too little anymore. >

< Seriously? > she asked in anger. < you’re gonna spend months saying you’ll kill the boy before he marries Sabine and now, you’re just gonna accept it as soon as I can use it against you? >

< If it wins me this argument, > Ursa clarified as she downed the last of the bottle of tihaar. < Goodnight, Bo. > Before she could respond, Ursa had already flopped down onto her cot and was sleeping soundly with her heavy armor still on her body.

_“Maybe I will go see Fenn.”_

* * *

The next morning Ezra woke up to the feeling of Sabine curled into his side as she lightly dozed next to him. He looked down at her sleeping head, her hair still dyed in the same deep shade of purple that faded to violet as it went out to the ends. After a few minutes of just enjoying her presence, Ezra realized how hungry he really was and thought how nice of a surprise it would be if he brought her back some breakfast. He moved his arm, trying to wiggle it free from its place underneath Sabine, only earning a discontented groan from her. She was stubborn to a fault even when asleep, getting Ezra to smile as she pulled his arm back to her and all but wrapped it around her. He tried again to move his body out from under her, only to receive a “Ezra, stop,” muffled against his chest. 

“Didn’t mean to wake you,” he told her apologetically. 

Sabine looked up at him with her hair ruffled and eyes still half shut. “It’s okay babe.”

Ezra went to move again only to be held onto tighter by her. “Sabine. I want breakfast.”

She slid her leg over his body and propped her chin up on his chest. “Well, I want you,” Sabine replied with a seductive smile dancing across her lips. “So, why don’t you have me instead of some reheated rations?” she continued softly as she straddled him and leaned down so their lips were only millimeters apart.

Ezra’s hands wrapped around her and traveled up and down her back as he closed the gap between them. They travelled down to where her waistband would usually be and he found it bare of any scrap of clothing, causing him to smile as he kissed her slowly. His hands wandered down and gripped her toned rear. He started to knead the muscle softly, lavishing attention to each side separately; Sabine, in response, pressed their upper bodies together and intensified their kiss.

_Beep beep beep._ The pair broke apart to look at the chiming communicator on Sabine’s gauntlet. She bit her lip thoughtfully as she stared at the blinking light while Ezra trailed kisses along her jaw and down her neck. _Beep beep beep._ Sabine groaned and got out of bed, ignoring Ezra’s pouting from behind her while picking up the communicator and answering it. < Hello? >

< Sabine, I would like your input on a demolition job, > Bo-Katan answered. < I’m just going to assume I’ll have to wait for you and Ezra to finish whatever it is you’re doing. >

Sabine looked taken aback for a moment. < N-nothing’s happening… I’ll be right there. > Without another word, she began to dress in clean clothing before attaching her armor and running out of the room, leaving a befuddled Ezra still on their bed. 

“Might as well get breakfast then,” he muttered as he got his own clothes on and left the ship. 

When he got to the mess tent, he noticed it was pretty deserted as most of the people at the camp had already gotten through with their meal and started their daily duties. What little remained was either cold, or a dish that Ezra wasn’t particularly fond of. However, just as he finished scanning over the options, a bin of Varos fruit caught his eye. After grabbing a pair of them, he settled down to a table with a mug of cassius tea in his hand. 

He was only a few bites into the fruit when someone set a helmet down and sat across from him making as little noise as possible. He looked up to see the gold streaked armor of Ursa Wren as she settled in the seat with a bowl of the foulest substance he had ever been near. “Countess, if you’re looking for Sab-”

Ursa raised a hand to silence him as she pinched her eyes shut. “Quieter… please,” she said softly. “I’m not looking for Sabine.”

Ezra didn’t need the Force to be able to tell she was hungover. “Sorry,” he said in a tone low enough to not upset her headache. 

She nodded slightly before picking up the bowl and slowly sipping the thick, green, and horrid smelling substance. She saw him staring at the dish with his nose wrinkled. “Its bilerat stew,” she explained. 

“It helps with hangovers?” the Jedi asked with a near silent chuckle.

Ursa nodded solemnly without questioning his knowing and continued to sip it. Ezra stared at her, wondering how she could stomach something like it with his appetite now spoiled. She picked up his mug of cassius tea and drank from it without hesitation. “Thanks,” she muttered quietly before standing up. “Have a good morning, Ezra.”

“Uh… you too,” Ezra replied hesitantly. Ursa continued to walk away, leaving a confused Ezra sitting at the table by himself with half a Varos fruit, and a mug of cassius tea that held the stench of bilerat stew that he no longer wanted t touch. _“That was probably the closest thing to polite I’ll ever get from her,”_ he though with a shrug before leaving the mess tent in favor of his ship.


	26. Chapter 26

**Day 174, 3 ABY**

“Sabine, I’m telling you,” Ezra said as they walked through the camp. “Something’s wrong with your mother.” Sabine scoffed and rolled her eyes at him, absentmindedly mumbling something along the lines of ‘I’m sure she’s fine’ as they weaved through the traffic around the cargo pad. “I’m being serious,” he insisted annoyedly. “She’s been almost _nice_ to me.”

“Wait, what?” Sabine asked as she abruptly halted them. “She’s being nice to you? Maybe you’re right… when did this start?”

“Eight days ago, at breakfast. She sat down and ate with me without a single snide comment or sneer. At first, I thought she was just hungover, which I’m pretty sure she was, but the next day she said ‘good morning,’ she held a door open for me a day after that, and yesterday, she even wished me good luck before I left.”

“So, she’s been showing you common courtesy?” Sabine asked sarcastically. “Wait. She’s been showing _you_ common courtesy,” the Mandalorian realized. “That is weird.”

“Well, I told you.”

Sabine raised her hand and waived off his cocky attitude. “This might actually be good,” she explained quietly. “Come on.” 

Before he could respond, Ezra found himself being pulled back the way they came from. He had to quickly apologize to everyone she barreled through as he avoided the odd stares and a few knowing looks from everyone around them. She finally stopped outside of her mother’s ship as the sun began to crest over the mountain range they were based in. “Wait right here,” Sabine order as she walked into the Kom’rk.

Ezra complied and stood still as the morning light glinted off of the hulls of the parked ships and reflected over the solid white sands while it simultaneously warmed up his armor and bodysuit to a comfortable temperature. “What are you doing out here?” Fenn Rau inquired as he slowed to a stop in front of Ezra.

“Sabine went inside to talk to her mother… Have you noticed she’s been nicer to me lately?” 

“Bo and I were wondering the same thing. Just last night we-”

“Rau, I don’t want to hear what you and _Bo_ were doing last night,”

“Shut your mouth before I have you jaw wired closed,” Fenn warned in a low voice as he looked around and got closer. “You’re the one who bit off more than he could chew.”

“Look, I’m just sayin’ we should stay on topic here,” Ezra replied defensively as he took a step back. “It’s actually pretty surreal having her not give me dirty looks every time I see her.”

“Maybe she’s planning to kill you and just wants you to be comfortable so you’ll let your guard down,” Rau offered using his careful observation of the countess’ motives when he was on Krownest. “Everything she does seems to be part of a plan, one way or another.” Ezra nodded in response, his eyes silently but frantically agreeing with Rau despite him not daring to say it aloud within proximity of Ursa. “Or maybe it’s because you’ve shown yourself to be valuable and she respects you as a combatant,”

Ezra barked out a laugh. “Don’t be ridiculous, Rau. That’s probably never going to happen.” Ezra looked up the ramp to make sure she wasn’t there before continuing. “But can she stop me from being with Sabine with anything short of killing me?”

“I doubt she would fight her own daughter just to stop you from being together. I’m pretty sure Sabine would be unforgiving during and after that match, regardless of the outcome. And no one else here is foolish enough to make that challenge, they wouldn’t want to be stuck with you.”

“Thanks,” Ezra deadpanned. “But I’ll still be stuck with you no matter what happens.”

“Not so fast,” Rau retorted quickly. “If Ursa can declare Sabine dar’manda, then I can surly cast you out of my ranks as well.”

“Fair enough,” came the mumbled reply from Ezra as he looked off thoughtfully, undoubtedly trying to find a way to outsmart Rau. “So, if you don’t survive… like if you get shot down,” Ezra took a chance to look at the old pilot as he said that and immediately noted the frown creeping across his face. “Not saying that you will, of course,” he quickly amended. “Let’s just assume that some lousy Imp gets a lucky shot off and since I’d be the only one left, does that mean I become the head of the protectors?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, but whether or not it was from frustration, deep thought, or some dark humor, Ezra was unable to tell. “I suppose it would, but then you’d really be in over your head. Lady Bo-Katan can be a very demanding woman.”

Ezra saw his chance and took it before Rau could clarify anything. “Yeah, I’ll bet she is. But I wouldn’t be serving her in the same way you do… I’m already with Sabine.” 

“And don’t forget that Bo is too good for you,” Rau replied with a not-so-playful smack to the back of Ezra’s head. 

“More like too old for me,” he murmured nearly inaudibly. “Like way too old.” The gloved hand hit the back of Ezra’s head again. “What was that for?” he asked as he rubbed the stinging point of impact. 

“Don’t think I didn’t hear that. It’s discipline. You’ll never fit into Mandalorian society if you don’t know when to shut your mouth.” Rau let his hands fall back to his sides and squared his shoulders. “Why don’t you start practicing now? The Mand’alor is coming.”

 _“Not when you’re with her.”_ Ezra thought before turning his head toward the direction Rau indicated. She emerged from behind a Kom’rk in her blue armor with the owl-painted helmet tucked under her arm and the Darksaber attached to her belt. She had something in her hands and a grim expression on her face, and she almost looked lost wandering through the camp while completely fixated on whatever she was holding. 

“Do you require assistance, my lady?” Rau asked respectfully when she got close enough.

Bo-Katan’s head snapped up as if she was slightly alarmed but quickly settled upon realizing who was talking to her. Ezra noticed her blood-shot and wet eyes, as well as a half-melted and warped piece of beskar in her hands. “I was actually looking for Ursa.”

“What happened?”

Her jaw locked in anger and her grip increased to the point where Ezra thought the beskar would break in her hands. “The Empire attacked our camp in the southern hemisphere as a trial for some new targeting system. There weren’t any survivors… there were hardly any pieces to bury, and there were no complete corpses. Most of our people were completely vaporized.” Bo-Katan paused for a moment to reign in her trembling breaths and regain her composure. “They said this is all that’s left of Korkie.”

“You think they rebuilt the Duchess?” Rau asked as he looked over the scorched and unusable piece of beskar.

“No… Thank the Manda. This was an orbital bombardment from one of their destroyers in orbit. Right now, the popular theory is that it was the _Executor_ that fired the shots due to the sheer magnitude of power it would require.” She looked up at Rau with an unhinged fury burning in her eyes. “I want whatever helped them target the camp burned to the ground. And then I want you to find out who ordered the attack, and I want you to slaughter whatever family they have in front of them and then give them a slow, excruciating death.”

* * *

Ezra had to admit that he was astonished. In only a few hours, Bo-Katan’s network of spies and slicers managed to secure coordinates for the site of the Empire’s newest targeting array in an area near the planet’s equator, just beyond the mountain’s that the destroyed camp had been nestled in. The entirety of the Mand’alor’s camp set out in their starships with revenge at the forefronts of their minds as they flew southwest with their weapons on maximum charge and their jurkad racks filled with over-eager warriors. 

The fleet of ships arrived within visual range of the outpost flying low and fast over the barren terrain, kicking up dust as they rushed the defenses of the base. < Angle deflector shields forward, > Bo-Katan ordered from her Kom’rk just before green bolts started to rake their formation in an attempt to slow down their onslaught. Over in his own ship, Ezra heeded the woman’s advice and used the targeting computer in his own ship to trace the origin of the batteries that were attempting to destroy the Mandalorian force. Once he had a lock on their locations, he broke formation and moved above the herd to get his weapons launched without hitting any of his allies. The pink glow of proton torpedoes rapidly shot away from his ship and weaved through the lasers coming from the outpost. It didn’t take them long to find their marks, and the brilliant clouds of proton particles preceded the massive explosions. < Good shot, > Bo congratulated through the com channel. < Rau, take our fighters and intercept any reinforcements. Ezra, I need you to find their comms array and any shielding generators they might have and destroy them. >

< Understood, > they both replied in unison. As the attack force got closer, the majority slowed to deploy the troops in the jurkad racks in the bellies of the Kom’rks while Ezra and another ship from clan Kryze continued at full speed to cover the rest of the distance. The pitiful group of TIEs that was stationed started to rise from their landing pads but were quickly cut down by Sabine in the co-pilot’s chair as well as the Kryze ship staying on his wing. They flew through the exploding debris of the TIEs as they scanned the compound for anything that would look like some sort of communications or scanning equipment, but unfortunately for Ezra, everything looked like some form of scanning or communicating device, with that being the entire purpose of the project and all. Ezra resigned to be better safe than sorry and let loose with his cannons on his ship, taking out the main generator in a shower of sparks and a plume of fire that nearly reached his altitude. 

< Ezra, have you destroyed the communications equipment yet? >

< Working on it, Mand’alor. But this entire outpost is communications equipment, > Ezra said before sparing a prideful look at Sabine. 

She rolled her eyes at him before playfully whispering, “Learning languages isn’t hard.”

< I’m not interested in excuses. Get it done. >

< And so it will be. > Ezra diverted the power from his engines, not needing the speed anymore, and sent it all to his primary weapons. He flew a wide arc around the compound with his engines humming much quieter in the background and found the most efficient route through the area. He dove in on his chosen vector with his fingers squeezing the trigger and striking the largest array and surrounding scanning equipment. 

< Imperial comm blackout confirmed. Infantry units are free to move in, > someone confirmed. 

< Good. Ezra, take your ship and find a landing zone. You’re going to secure the commanding officer and any intel you can from their computers. >

< Yes Ma’am. > He swung away from the base and touched down a few hundred meters from the perimeter. He rushed out the back with Sabine and noticed the other ship had landed with them. 

< We’ll stay here and guard the ships, > the Nite Owl told him. < I wouldn’t want to disappoint the Mand’alor if I were you. >

Ezra waved in confirmation and ignited his jetpack and streaking toward his newest objective. He got over the wall, and the first thing he noticed was the smell of burning flesh and the stark white plastoid of stormtrooper bodies littering the ground. Some were completely scorched from being too near the generator when he destroyed it, some were covered in pockmarks from where shrapnel had hit them and gone through the armor, but most of them were covered in stab wounds and close range blaster shots from the Mandalorian infantry that had made it into the compound before they could. For them, this battle was personal, and every kill was a restoration of honor for those killed in such a cowardly attack, and in their minds, the more brutal the kill, the better. Ezra couldn’t fault them in the slightest, in many ways he agreed with them. In the time he’d spent on Mandalore, he learned that his aversion to violence had restricted him and the Jedi of old. He discussed it in length with Rau and Bo-Katan, eventually coming to the conclusion that what he did to these men wasn’t personal, and he shouldn’t believe it to be. But upon seeing the _massacre_ in front of him, he felt like he had gone too far with his strike and the shots that he intentionally placed around the array, but quickly pushed it out of his mind and moved forward. 

He found Tristan and some of the other warriors of clan Wren stopped at the door to the compound. They were standing idly among a freshly killed squadron of troopers whose blaster wounds were still smoldering. A few of them were putting small tally marks in their vambraces and adding up their counted kills. < Imp commander locked this door down. Think you can get it open? > one of the warriors asked. 

< maybe, > Ezra replied non-committal as he moved in for a look at the control panel. After a few moments he sighed in frustration. < So, did he lock it down, or did you guys hit the panel on accident? > Ezra asked as he looked over the completely burned out and eviscerated wiring behind the durasteel faceplate.

< Does it really matter? > one of the female warriors asked. < Just use your Jetii’kad and cut a hole for us. We want to see it work anyway. >

Ezra looked at Tristan, already knowing he had told them about the abilities of a lightsaber and argued with their obvious doubt of his stories. < Fine. > Ezra turned behind him to make sure nobody else was around. < One of you needs to make sure nobody else comes along though. I’m not too keen on the entire camp knowing what I am. > When nobody moved after a few seconds Ezra looked at Tristan, determined to punish him for telling them in the first place. < Alright, big mouth. Since you’ve seen it once, you don’t need to see it again. Get over there, > Ezra said and pointed to the intersection behind them. He took some satisfaction at the annoyed grumbling from Sabine’s brother and waited for him to give an all clear signal. When it came, Ezra ignited the cyan blade of his lightsaber and quickly plunged it into the durasteel door. He reached out with the Force to gauge their reactions, with most of them being in the surprised range, and then he started to bring the saber around in a wide arc. When he completed his circle, he decided to show off a little more and used the Force to launch the piece of metal down the hall with ease. 

< Well that was… efficient, > one of them noted. < Strong work, > he continued absentmindedly as he clapped Ezra on his armored shoulder and walked through the still red-hot passage and into the building, looking at the dripping pieces of metal and deep gouges in the floor from where the cutout had hit.

Ezra followed him through, and they all quickly started to run through the halls to make up for the delay. The drab hallways, much in the standard imperial design, had an uncomfortable amount of outcroppings and blast doors should the base commander decide to lock it down and force them into a firefight, but the fast and accurate shots from the Mandalorians kept any stormtroopers they came across from tripping the alarm. When they finally made the correct guesses as to the layout of the station, they came across a naval commander and his subordinates desperately destroying computers and burning flimsiplast documents. < They’re clearing house, > Tristan warned. Without needing to give the order, the Mandalorians started to shoot anyone close to the consoles or fires, and quickly garnered the attention of the commander.

“Destroy the database!” he ordered his men desperately before drawing his sidearm. Ezra pulled the blaster from his hand with the Force and shot down the trooper next to him. “A Jedi!” he hissed in alarm. He moved toward one of the consoles, but Ezra quickly shot him in the shoulder, which sent him to the ground as he writhed in pain. He stood over the injured officer with his blaster ready as he stared down at the helpless man. “Are you going to kill me?”

“Me? No.” Ezra shrugged and put his blaster back in its holster. He bent down and picked up the commander by the collar of his shirt. “The Mand’alor wants you alive. Good luck.” He waved a hand in front of the imperial’s face smoothly. “You can sleep now,” Ezra suggested softly. The man slumped in his grasp and Ezra quickly lifted him over his shoulder while the Mandalorians took down the rest of the troopers in the small room. < We good? > he asked Sabine.

< Yeah, but we should tell Lady Bo-Katan what they were doing; she might want her techs to look for any intel we could use. >

< Sounds like the best idea you’ve had all day. >

* * *

Back at the camp, Ezra walked into the “enhanced interrogation chamber” that Bo-Katan had brought the prisoner to when they got back. The woman slightly turned from the officer to acknowledge Ezra. She turned to the commander and switched to speaking basic. “Well, I’m going to leave you in the _very_ capable hands of my friend Axe… maybe you’ll be more willing to speak with him.” She stood and looked at one of the guards before cocking her head at the prisoner. The man nodded and made his way over to the commander, disconnecting the vambrace from his wrist and removing it so it was only his beskar plated knuckles in play. < This will be unpleasant to hear, Ezra. Why don’t we find somewhere else? > she asked before turning to the other guard “Koska, make sure Axe doesn’t kill this Imperial scum,” she ordered in basic so the commander would understand. 

“No promises, boss.”

Bo-Katan smirked as she walked by Koska and out of the room with Ezra following close behind her. < What is it, Bridger? >

< The slicers got into what was left of the mainframe. They said the compound must have doubled as a relay for the Imperial forces because all of their troop movements and patrol patterns for the major cities had been stored there. >

The woman smiled slightly with a plan already formulating in her head. < We need to make sure they think the commander finished the job before we leave. This could finally help us move on Keldabe. >

< Then I’ll tell them immediately. >

< You might want to let Sabine do that. Sometimes your Mando’a is still a bit… rough, > she reasoned before leading him toward the briefing room.

They walked into the room that had been centered around a large holotable with enough emitters around it to host the heads of every major clan in the resistance. Bo-Katan summoned them all through the holonet and opened the information gained from the outpost. One by one, the clan and house leaders all materialized with their bodies obscured by the slight blurs and blue hues generally associated with holographic communication. Ursa was the last to show up, walking into the area silently and standing on the side of Bo-Katan opposite of Ezra. < I’m glad you could answer on such short notice, the information we have obtained is vital to our push onto Keldabe. >

< What is it? > The head of House Vizsla asked curiously. 

Bo-Katan pressed a series of buttons which prompted the computer to start quickly flipping through different images of maps, statistics, experimental designs, strategy, and troop movements. < Everything we could possibly need to force the imperials from the capital. > She stopped the images on an overlay of the city with Imperial positions marked throughout.

< It looks like they rely on these roads to respond to any attacks at the docks, > another one of the Mandalorians pointed out. < They’ll deploy from the garrison and any ground forces will be funneled into this pass. > From his end, he highlighted a narrow gap between two of Keldabe’s tall buildings that was just wide enough to fit two AT-ATs side by side. 

Bo-Katan nodded in agreement. < We’ll need something large enough to draw their forces out though. I was thinking an assault on the docks between our forces could seem urgent enough to warrant the response we’re looking for. >

Ezra looked at the buildings and thought back to the stories Rex told him about rescuing a huttlet in the beginning of the clone wars. < Is this what we’re using the AT-TEs for? >

< We were thinking the docks, but we could use some here to do some of the real damage when we spring the trap. Good thinking, > Ursa replied casually.

< Thank you, > Ezra muttered, fully aware and completely astonished that the countess had just given him a complement. < But what about their fleet. When they know they’ve lost the city, they’ll destroy it. >

Bo-Katan hummed in consideration. Before switching the view to one of the Empire’s naval assets in the system. The _Executor_ dwarfed the other ships around it by a considerable scale. < Perhaps we could borrow a maneuver from the Rebel Alliance, > Rau offered thoughtfully while still trying to keep Ezra’s cover within the group a secret. < I’ve been hearing of a cell on Lothal stealing entire convoys. We could probably do better and take the bridge of a destroyer. >

Ezra looked up. < Are you sure you’re up to the challenge? > he asked, leaving out the ‘old man’ he desperately wanted to add to the end. 

< Of course, we are. Our forces are much better trained, equipped, _and_ lead than those Lothal cells, > Rau snarked back with a smirk that dared Ezra to retort. 

< Understood, > Ezra replied simply, not wanting to cause a scene in front of everyone else.

Hours went by as the more senior officers discussed the finer points of their plan and coordinated their forces outmaneuver the Imperial response. When it was finally over, Ezra waited until the shimmering likenesses to fade away before he started to walk away from the table. On his way out, a hand grabbed him by the arm. He turned his head and saw the opaque visor of Ursa Wren staring him dead in the face. < I need to talk to you. >

< And Sabine? > Ezra asked, hoping his hopefulness didn’t bleed into his tone. 

< No. Just you. >

Ezra couldn’t feel any sort of malice coming from the countess, which usually would have been expected, but her feeling of acceptance made Ezra uneasy to say the least. When they were finally far away from anyone who would overhear them, Ezra spoke. < Something on your mind? >

She stopped walking and faced him. Her shoulders slumped slightly like she was resigned to some sort of humiliating defeat. < I have come to accept the fact that Sabine won’t have anyone but you, > she started. 

_“So that’s what this is about…”_ Ezra thought with his mind suddenly glossing over a thousand ways this could still end horribly for him. 

< I remember after you left, I tried to convince her that you were dead. Obviously, that didn’t work. Her dedication to you makes me sure of her feelings, but you disappearing in the first place makes me wonder about yours… > She trailed off for a moment while removing her helmet. < I need to know that you are dedicated to her as she is to you. >

< I’m here, aren’t I? >

< I’ve been told you have an affinity for helmets, > she dismissed with a sudden but well-hidden edge to her voice. < I’m not sure you understand what this entails. If you and Sabine are eventually married, then there’s no backing out. You are together forever and the only thing that will separate you two is death. And even then, she won’t be allowed to remarry. > Ezra took a tentative step back from the countess as she tore off her helmet and continued. < I know what you two have been doing, I would say its disgraceful if I hadn’t done the same with Alrich before we got married. But I need to know if you’re ready. Right now. >

Ezra looked her dead in the eyes without his gaze faltering. < I am, > he said confidently. < It’s something I’ve always wanted… I love Sabine, and not even you could change that. > Ezra immediately regretted his choice of words and hoped to whatever deity was watching him that he didn’t just piss of Ursa. 

Ursa’s features softened after hearing what she wanted to. < Then I’ll accept her choice, and I’ll have to accept you when the time comes for you two to be married. >

Ursa walked away without another word, leaving a stunned Ezra standing in their meeting spot. After a few moments his brain caught up to the present and he saw her turn the corner and head back toward her ship. _“I have to tell Sabine.”_


	27. Chapter 27

**Day 180, 3 ABY**

The trek toward Keldabe was almost complete as Ezra left the command compartment of the AT-TE and walked toward the front of the old walker to get a better view of what lie ahead. He was still nervous about what might happen today. Even if the Mandalorians were able to take the city, the ones in space would still need to be successful in driving back whatever ships tried to stop them. The odds, as usual, were grossly stacked against him, and even though Rau said they had a plan, the man was disturbingly tight-lipped about it. He stabilized himself against the back of the gunner’s seat as one of the large feet slipped off a rock.

< We cleaned the drivers real good since one melted when you were taking them, > the gunner told him after noticing his presence. 

< Good, > Ezra replied only half listening before he utilized the zoom function on his helmet to see their entrance still secure.

< We switched out all the anti-personnel cannons for the EWHBs we got too. Should make quick work of whatever fodder they toss at us. >

Satisfied with the lack of Imperial activity surrounding the city, Ezra climbed back down to the main area and prepared for the assault with Sabine and the others. When the briefing was concluded, Bo- Katan exited the tank and flew for the largest commercial port while the forces under Rau’s command took off in their ships.

* * *

Arriving to the base of the city’s wall sometime later with his Westar-35s holstered and his lightsaber hidden on his person, Ezra and Sabine strapped themselves in while the walker began its vertical climb into the city. They stayed low in the undercity for the beginning of their trek, only rising to the main levels upon reaching a quiet area that would allow them to get up to the attack point without drawing too much attention. Their positioning couldn’t have been more perfect for their plan. On one side of them was the Imperial garrison, and on the other was the city’s main defensive line. Poised here, they would be able to intercept whatever response was deployed from the garrison and catch them unaware and not quite ready to fight. Not that they ever were.

Ezra’s group further split up to capitalize on their enemy’s unpreparedness and surrounded the narrow gap between the two towers they had chosen for the mission. < Wait for them to respond to the Mand’alor’s assault. When they are upon us, we’ll need to box them in, > Ezra ordered in his still slightly choppy pronunciations of Mando’a. The silence was nerve wracking, and he could hear his heart beating as he waited for all hell to break loose. Bo-Katan never failed to disappoint when it came to creating chaos, just as he was beginning to worry, a massive explosion was set off, lighting up the densely packed city and shaking the foundations all the way to Ezra’s position. It only took a couple of seconds for the Imperial’s alarms to begin blaring in the complex in front of them. The Imperial LAAT/i transports began to leave the hangars, and the massive door at the bottom began its long opening process. 

Ezra waited as long as he could, and when the door finally finished opening, the flying transports were almost past him and he had to give the order to fire. The E-Webs began to rake the sky with blaster fire while the AT-TE gunners fired the mass drivers atop into the entrance of the garrison. He could hardly make out the individual shapes as the rounds from the main cannons sent them flying, but he did know that their part of the attack was successful. Ezra turned his head to the sky to watch the flying transports burst into flames one by one as they entered the kill zone they had established. As he expected, the first response was sloppy and uncoordinated, and as he feared the second one wasn’t going to be. He switched his focus back to the garrison and saw the Imperial troop transports trying to break through the fire and shrapnel to race to reinforce their men at the docks. But much to his chagrin, instead of just sending transports filled with Infantry, whoever was commanding the Imperial forces had sent AT-ATs to deal with them. The armor on the newer walkers was much too thick for the AT-TEs to pierce effectively, and before Ezra could tell any of the men on the guns to stop firing, they sent a few ineffective shots against the lumbering gray death machines. The Imperials, as always responded with overwhelming force. The AT-ATs tracked the origin of the shots back to the positions of the tanks that had fired and began to blast them with their heavy cannons. The men manning them were forced to abandon their vehicles as the red bolts hit their walkers with devastating effect.

< Pull back! > Ezra shouted through his helmet comm to the remaining vehicles, but he wasn’t fast enough. Several more of the tanks were hit by the plasma fire and the old armor couldn’t withstand the damage for very long, leading them to burst into flames after a few volleys, and taking some of their troops to become one with the Force… or the Manda in their case. The remaining walkers pulled back and TIEs began to deploy from the dome. Now Ezra was unable to fire on the Empire’s ground support effectively… he needed to warn Bo-Katan before it was too late. 

< Mand’alor! We need to pull back. > No response came from the orange haired Mandalorian. < Lady Kryze! > he called desperately into his helmet’s built-in communicator.

Sabine ran up from the command tank’s command center. < Ezra, they’re jamming our comms, > she warned as she ran up to his side.

Thinking quickly, Ezra leapt down from the top of the tank, not caring if anyone watched him land the high fall with ease. He sprinted over to one of the men on the edge of another tank and waved to grab his attention. The man looked down at Ezra to listen. < Go to the Mand’alor and tell her this position can no longer be held. We’ll cover you if we can, > Ezra ordered quickly. 

The man nodded once in affirmation before standing back up. He quickly activated his jetpack and weaved through the massive amount of blaster fire the Empire was putting up.

Above him, Sabine ordered the armored force to begin a flanking maneuver to try and get a leg up on the advancing Imperial force. Several walkers made the trek around as fast as they could while the Empire methodically advanced and pelted the sides of the buildings they were using. The rest of the walkers fired on the Imperials to try and mask their counterattack. After what seemed like forever, shots began to pour in from the sides of the AT-ATs. Several that were near the ends of the Imperial formation were struck in the weak point at the neck and fell over as the pilots were cooked and controls destroyed. 

A few of the men standing outside of the AT-TEs began to cheer as the sound of crashing and explosions reached them, but it abruptly stopped when a large blast shook the building that they were standing on violently. Ezra climbed back up the walker to get a better view of what was going on and instantly noticed the mangled side of one of the nearby structures.

The blast wasn’t one typical of a shot from a walker, more like a controlled detonation of some sort. Ezra realized much too late that this was all just a massive trap. The side of the building gave out and the walkers began to slide down, not able to control their fall as any sort of purchase they could get quickly crumbled from beneath them. The same thing happened seconds later to his own building. < Back! Back! Back! > he shouted to the driver from the top of the tank. The man quickly complied and put the vehicle in full reverse. They didn’t quite make it far enough, and the front of the building was briefly engulfed in a ball of fire and began to slide out from beneath them as the duracrete began to crumble and fall away from the metal frame. The pilot pulled the controls back as fast as he could but was too late to prevent Ezra from falling off the front of the walker as it briefly slumped forward and nearly lost traction. 

Ezra knew his fall was going to be a long one if he didn’t act quickly. He tried to activate his jetpack but found himself moving through a debris field as he fell with several floors and some of the roof of the building. He was forced to weave between the larger bits in a freefall and had to endure the punishment from the smaller pieces pelting him as he barely made it through with his life. The Imperials were getting much too close for Ezra’s comfort, he activated his jetpack successfully this time after making it through the remainder of the falling pieces and began to slow his rapid descent instead of maneuvering in the perilously narrow streets. A troop carrier noticed him nearing the ground and quickly deployed the men within it to shoot him. With the number of men they deployed, Ezra knew it was statistically impossible even for stormtroopers to miss him. He activated the small shield on his vambrace and used it to deflect the closer bolts, not willing to reveal his lightsaber just yet and risk being identified. One of the shots from an E-11 whizzed by his shield and struck his jetpack while he was still too high to land normally. Ezra called on the Force as little as possible to help him survive the fall and landed heavily, falling over as he touched down with an awkward bend to his ankle. The stormtroopers looked up instead of shooting him, so naturally, Ezra did too, only to see the crumbling building had caught up with him rather quickly before it covered him completely.

He knew he wasn’t dead, the fact that he could feel the heavy debris laying on him was proof of that. Well, that and the fact that he could hear the stormtroopers debating whether or not they should dig him out. He noticed that there wasn’t any blaster fire in the background and instantly wondering what had happened after he fell. “Look, I just don’t think it’s worth all the effort,” one of the men reasoned. “Even if it is the one Gideon is looking for, he couldn’t have survived that.”

“Yeah, that’s what you think, sergeant. Hell, that’s what I thought before getting assigned here. You know how many times I thought I killed the same Mando?”

“Not really, commander.”

“A lot. Look, it shouldn’t take long at all, just make the conscripts do it.”

Ezra groaned involuntarily as he tried to shift his body and felt a dull pain shoot up his leg. “Did you hear that?”

Ezra still couldn’t see what was around him but tried to move again to get some of the pressure off of his leg. Unfortunately, some of the metal on him began to creak and the one of the larger chunks shifted. “I did that time, sir.”

“I told you he was alive. Now get digging,” the commander ordered. 

Ezra felt himself getting weaker as each second dragged on. The reduced pressure managed to restore blood flow to his leg, but he realized just how much pain he was actually in as it started to throb horribly. His breaths became more ragged, and his vision got darker even though small streaks of light were beginning to make it through the debris.

“Do you have something for me, commander?” a new voice asked calmly.

“We think so, agent Gideon. We didn’t get much time to look at him, but the armor patterns match from what we remember.”

“Even if it isn’t him, the information he can provide is a valuable commodity. You’ve done well, commander.” 

A chunk of duracrete was lifted off Ezra’s helmet and he slightly rotated his head to see what was happening. Thankfully, the visor on these helmets would polarize and keep the bright light from blinding him completely, but the planet’s star was still obscuring much of what was going on around him. A gloved hand wiped across his visor, clearing the dust off sloppily. “I think we found him,” one of the troopers yelled.

Ezra heard a few men taking steps toward him as a piece of debris laying over his torso was lifted off. With his hand free, he went for his blaster. He brought it up and tried to aim it at the trooper that had uncovered him, but a boot roughly pinned his wrist to the ground as the blaster clattered away from his reach. The silhouette of the man wasn’t that of a stormtrooper and Ezra was pretty sure whoever it was had a cape on. “Now that’s no way to thank somebody who just saved your life.” 

One of the stormtroopers grabbed the blaster. “This would look good on my wall,” he commented as he examined it. 

“No, trooper,” the agent responded calmly. “Owning that weapon would be in violation of the Imperial civilian arms code if you sent it home, and would be in violation of the Imperial military regulations if you kept it… It belongs to the Empire now.”

“Yes, sir.” The man pouted. Ezra saw the stormtrooper hand it to the agent and bend down toward Ezra. The trooper, as well as a few others, grabbed him and hauled him the rest of the way out of the rubble, painfully dislodging his dust and blood covered leg. Two of the troopers were carrying him from under the arms. “This guy weighs a ton,” one of them commented. “How do they even wear this stuff?”

Before the other man could answer, Ezra activated the blaster in his vambrace hitting the foot of one of the soldiers. He stumbled out of the other’s grasp and grabbed the wounded man’s blaster as he fell to the ground. Ezra stumbled forward and spun around to try and blast his captors, but the agent caught the E-11 and Ezra felt too weak to pull it away as Ezra’s leg gave out beneath him. “You’re the reason we can’t have nice things,” the agent remarked calmly. He drew his standard issue blaster pistol and pressed it firmly between Ezra’s armor plates. “Sleep well, Mandalorian.” He fired a stun blast into Ezra’s side but most of the energy was absorbed by the bodysuit they had issued him. 

As his head bobbed side to side, he felt a firm kick in his side from the trooper he had shot in the foot. “Asshole,” the trooper bit out. Ezra looked away from him and toward the agent who was now standing over him. His vision faded to black as the man brought up his commlink and connected with the _Executor_ before stunning him once again.

* * *

He woke after an unknown amount of time with a splitting headache and something running from his nose and mouth and the throbbing in his leg mostly gone. He tried to open his eyes, but when he did all he saw was black. He tried to move his rub his eyes, but his arms and wrists were tightly bound to whatever he was laying on. He soon found out his legs were in the same position, and the metal bands around his ankles dug into them as he struggled. He began to shift his whole body to free himself but found the same metal bands around his waist, chest, and neck, all tightened for maximum discomfort.

Ezra took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Closing his eyes once more, he tried to channel the Force to loosen the restraints if at all possible. While he was deep in concentration, he wasn’t prepared for the electrical current that began to pulse through him and send his body into a painful contraction of every single one of his muscles. He did his best to avoid it, but as the pain went on, he began to groan in agony. Fifteen excruciating seconds later, the current ceased. “Hey now, Bridger, none of that!” a familiar voice warned playfully.

“Luke,” Ezra greeted as casually as possible as he tried to nod in acknowledgement to his presence. 

“Quiet!” he ordered sharply. Ezra heard his footsteps as he walked across the room towards him. His hand landed on top of Ezra’s head and pulled whatever was on him off with some of his hair caught in the grip. The bright light in the interrogation chamber blinded Ezra and made his head begin to pulse horribly. Ezra groaned in pain as he pinched his eyes shut and began to blink rapidly to get accustomed to the light.

He was finally able to open his eyes and keep them open, and right in front of him was the same guy he’d met for the first time on Dagobah. The sickly yellow eyes and devilish grin gazed back at his pained expression as Ezra tried to will the headache under his control. There was a blur off to his side, and Ezra felt a stinging on his right cheek. The impact caused his nose and mouth to throb violently for a few seconds. Luke chuckled for a second before hitting him in the stomach, making Ezra try to double over but he was caught by the restraints. 

Luke leaned back and laughed softly again. He looked at Ezra as Ezra followed him around the room with his eyes and waited for the questioning to start. “You know, Ezra. The entire time I was with the rebels, all anyone ever did was compare me to you and Kanan.” Ezra stayed silent as Luke paced around the room agitated. “they’d always say ‘Ezra could’ve done this’ or ‘Kanan would’ve tried that instead.’ It was never ‘good job Luke, that was great.’ I spent the entire time in your shadow. Trying to live up to their expectations of a Jedi without a master!” Luke was back in his face, gripping Ezra’s chin with what Ezra knew to be a robotic hand. “You had it easy!” he started as he did his best to throw Ezra’s head against the vertical table. “You had direction!” Luke threw his hands up in the air and stepped back. “I had to make it on my own. And now… I’m stronger than you-”

“Let me off this table and we’ll see who’s stronger,” Ezra cut in before Luke could say anything else. 

Ezra instantly regretted it, because Luke pulled out a small remote and turned a dial, smirking at Ezra before he pressed the button in the center. The crackle of electricity came through the wires attached to the table, and before he knew it, Ezra was convulsing as the current passed through his body. “You’ll talk when I want you to talk!” he hissed. Luke allowed the current to course through Ezra for a few more seconds before he deactivated it and smoke rose from his singed clothing. Ezra was panting and his neck went limp as his vision began to fade in and out. “You’ll have a chance to prove your strength soon enough. My father think you could be a valuable addition to the Empire. So, I can’t kill you… _yet_.” Luke was quiet for a couple of seconds. “Maybe he’ll let me when I prove that you’re too weak, of course. Then I can have some fun with that Mandalorian bitch you’re always with.”

Ezra stoically sat in the chair determined not to give Luke the response he wanted. Just as it looked like Luke was about to say something to him, the door to the cell hissed open. The ISB agent walked into the room and slightly bowed his head towards Luke. “Our Emperor wishes to speak with you,” he told him confidently. 

Luke sneered once more at Ezra. “Very well… Deal with this rebel scum,” he ordered.

Luke stormed past the man and out to speak to his father over hologram. When he left the room the ISB agent scoffed and shook his head softly. “That hotheaded kid is going to cause many issues for Imperial operations,” he said softly to himself. He looked up at Ezra and Ezra looked him over, noticing the hilt of the Darksaber on his belt. “Allow me to properly introduce myself… I am Agent Gideon of the ISB, the agent now charged with reconquering Mandalore or Manda’yaim if you choose to call it that.”

The man followed Ezra’s gaze to his belt. “Yes,” he started, answering Ezra’s unspoken question. “This _is_ the Darksaber… Now I suppose it means that I’m the ruler of all Mandalorians, but I don’t think you are one. And I don’t think you’ll recognize my rule.” The man began to look over Ezra inquisitively. “The kid was _very_ interested in you, but he wouldn’t say why. But this,” he said as he pulled Ezra’s lightsaber from behind him. “Tells me you’re a Jedi. Maybe he knew you?” he pried. Ezra stayed silent as he locked eyes with the man. “No… I doubt it. Probably only peripherally. Let me see…” he trailed off as he picked up a datapad from the table off to his side. “Jedi, Jedi, Jedi,” he mumbled quietly. “Not many of those left.” He looked up at Ezra again. “Hmm. Dark blue hair… which is just weird, _Piercing_ blue eyes,” Ezra was beginning to feel more uncomfortable than scared at this guy’s odd behavior. “Skin… Copper? Yes, that should do it,” he mumbled.

After a few seconds, Ezra could see many of the lines drop off whatever list he was looking at. The man pressed a few more tabs on the datapad and began to scroll through the files. He found one that seemed to catch his eye and held it up to compare it with Ezra. “Yes, I _can_ see the resemblance. So, _Ezra Bridger_ , do you mind telling me what you’re doing on Mandalore?”

“Vacation,” he answered simply as he stared at the man in front of him. 

“Not a very pretty place…” Gideon said as he stared at him cockily. He looked back at the datapad and followed a few more links through Ezra’s files. “Oh, it’s for Sabine Wren, isn’t it?” Ezra didn’t say anything, and the man smiled. “We don’t have her yet, but I’m sure we will soon,” he said in a tone that Ezra supposed was his attempt at reassuring. “We could use her help remaking the Duchess.”

Ezra looked at him with a blank expression, he was sure the man would have tried to exploit his attachment for Sabine in the interrogation, but he seemed to skip right past it. “I’ll make sure she’s not tortured when we get her,”

“Okay, that’s… different,” Ezra said as he looked around suspiciously. “But why are you here?” he asked as he stared at Gideon inquisitively. “What do you want with me?”

“Emperor Vader has assigned me to crush this resistance, but you don’t need to die with it. I know that your attack force came from the east, your camp is already gone, all you need to do is tell me where the fallback base is. Just a location. That’s all I need, and then you and Sabine Wren can leave. You can go anywhere in the galaxy, away from the fighting, away from the constant threat of capture and death. I’ll even take you out of Imperial records if you just tell me where your friends are hiding.”

Ezra stared at Gideon, knowing that even if he was keeping his word, Luke would never let that happen. Vader and the Empire would never let that happen.

“The rebellion is doomed; you have to know that. If you give me the location, then I can have you and Sabine on a shuttle with enough fuel to get wherever you want.”

“You can’t beat them… Even now, I know they’re planning their counterattack, when the rest of the clans combine their forces-”

“The rest are scattered. We used the targeting relays we set up to wipe them off the map.”

“That’s not possible, we destroyed it already.”

“Oh, you young idiot… We built more than one,”

Before either of them could say anything else, the door opened, and Luke walked back into the room. 

“Leave,” he ordered simply. Gideon walked out of the room and only turned around once more to look at Ezra with an expression that seemed to say, ‘last chance.’ Luke walked over to the table and picked up the lightsaber. “Huh, you know, I never got to see many of these.” He ignited the twin blades and began to swing the saber around, watching the movement of the blade as it cut though the air. Ezra focused on Luke as Gideon closed the interrogation room door. “The last Emporer melted them all down after the 501st sacked the Jedi temple. Double sided, that’s kind of uncommon. Isn’t it?” Luke twisted his hands on the hilt and the saber clicked and separated. “Oh, now that’s different,” he said as he held one side of the hilt in each hand. 

He extinguished one of the blades and tossed it onto the table carelessly. “This is very… blue,” he said as his gaze bore into the bright crackling blade. “I prefer red.” He spun the saber around in his hand and grazed Ezra with it, leaving a burning gash on his exposed bicep. “Where’s the base?” he asked. “Tell me now.”

“Luke, you know I won’t tell you. And you know the Empire is wrong. All of this is just _wrong_.”

“My father taught me that ‘wrong’ is just a construct of those in power. Seeing as the Empire has more followers and power, I’d say the rebellion is wrong by those standards.” Luke slowly pushed the blade into Ezra’s rib, making him grit his teeth as he choked off a scream. “It’s wrong and it’s weak, Ezra. I’m not the one who was left behind and captured. That was you, and it only happened because the rebels were too weak to save you. They ran as soon as they could, nobody even spared a glance at where you fell.”

“Luke, you could come back. The Empire will get rid of you as soon as they don’t need you. Come to the rebellion, we can bring the Jedi back.”

Luke took a step back and threw Ezra’s lightsaber onto the table as his face contorted into pure rage. “The Jedi are pathetic! I have more power than you or any Jedi ever could!”

Ezra knew where Luke was mentally because he’d been there once before too. After Malachor, Ezra had relied on the Dark side when Kanan stopped training him. He felt drunk on power until he realized he was hurting those closest to him more than anyone else. “Luke, it may feel good, but in the end it’s a trap. The Dark side will end up owning you.”

“It’s only a trap for the pathetic and weak-willed. Like you,” he replied before outstretching his hand and assaulting Ezra’s mind with the Force. Ezra writhed, pained gasps and groans were all he could manage to get out. Through the void he was plunged into, he could hear Luke’s questioning. He’d been demanding information on the Mandalorian resistance and Ezra was refusing to give him anything, even if it meant more pain and darkness.

* * *

He was finally fully conscious again a few hours later.

He woke up to a Supercommando standing next to an Imperial technician. “We need to sedate the prisoner until the Supreme Commander gets back to interrogate him,” he heard one of them say as he blinked away the fog. The technician picked up a needle filled with a green-tinted fluid and started towards Ezra. 

Ezra struggled as the technician drew closer, digging the restraints into his body and extremities as he rocked against the table. The commando grabbed his arm and pinned it to the table so the technician could inject him properly. He expected sleep to greet him, but instead of the heavy eyelids and slow breaths, it felt like something was missing. He couldn’t exactly figure it out, but one of his senses was gone, He knew he could feel, the burning on his wounds confirmed that. He could see and hear, and he could definitely smell the antiseptic odor that dominated the room, and he could taste the blood in his mouth. 

“Do you think it’s working?” the Supercommando asked. 

“Well, we won’t know; he can’t exactly use it right now. I think they need their hands free to do it properly or something like that.”

Ezra took a long breath in and tried to find his center. He attempted to reach out to the room but felt nothing, like he was trapped in some sort of void. He took another deep breath and called on the Force. Again, there was nothing. He felt so… exposed without it. He didn’t know how, but it seemed like they stripped the Force from him.

“The suppressants will dull his Force senses, at this dose, he shouldn’t be able to use it even if his hands were freed.”

The men continued to talk about Ezra like he wasn’t in the room while he struggled to make a connection to the Force. Eventually the men left the room and Ezra was driving himself up a wall trying desperately to meditate. 

**Day 183, 3 ABY**

That new agent, Gideon, had pushed the Mandalorian resistance back on all fronts. It had been three days since Ezra had gone missing and the only lead they had was an unnamed prisoner being kept in the command ship above Mandalore. In only three days, the Imperial strategy had completely turned around. The mass wave attacks were gone and now they were relying on orbital bombardments and the remaining Supercommandos to drive the resistance back. Unfortunately, their strategy was working. The Mand’alor’s forces had nothing that could withstand the orbital bombardments they were all being subjected to and one by one, their backup camps had been lost and abandoned as the Empire continued their push.

In their counterattack at the garrison, Bo-Katan had lost the Darksaber when she was thrown off an AT-TE by a blast from an Imperial walker. Laying on the ground almost dead, the woman ordered the retreat that had continued until this very moment, and they haven’t been able to stop the onslaught of the Empire. 

Bo-Katan was finally awake in the medical tent and had just ordered a general retreat from the planet. Manda’yaim was lost. Many had evacuated off world already, taking whatever ships they could to run the Imperial blockade.

Now, Sabine sat in the back of Ezra’s ship with many of her clan, ready to attack the command Destroyer that they believed held Ezra.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a new language being used in this chapter. I've chosen to use brackets to represent its use in dialogue.
> 
> There was also a chapter uploaded yesterday if you haven't already seen it (Chapter 27). 
> 
> Finals are over so I expect to be able to spend more time on this until my next semester begins.

**Day 183, 3 ABY**

It has been three days since Ezra’s capture if he was thinking correctly. Three nearly non-stop days of drugging, questioning, and pain. Another round of Force suppressant was injected into Ezra’s arm as he lay helplessly in his restraints. They had steadily increased the dosage as he gained a tolerance to the serum, and now he was getting the full effect after a dramatic escalation ordered by Gideon. The world around him became foggy and Ezra felt absolutely helpless, how non-Force sensitives could live like this was beyond him, it was almost as bad as if he lost his hearing or sight. He shut his eyes and tried to focus on anything except for the burning sensations from where he’d been cut, electrocuted, or otherwise wounded, but all he ever kept getting back to was the inescapable feeling of dread that came along with his injuries. He knew that with the amount he had sustained, he wouldn’t be able to pull any of his usual tricks to escape. If someone didn’t come for him soon, he figured, he would have to stop fighting and enjoy whatever blissful feelings he imagined accompanying death.

Luke walked into the room again and smiled evilly at him. On the first day, Luke had slashed him and jabbed him with his own lightsaber, making light burns that would probably not heal properly without any bacta, and had taken time to practice his Force abilities by pushing hard against Ezra’s mind, trying to break his will as well as his consciousness so he could get to any details about the rebellion. The second day involved plenty of truth serums and more Force suppressant, as well as the more traditional forms of torture that the Empire employed. Today had already begun with the injections, and now Ezra waited for whatever Luke had thought to use against him. 

“You ready to start, Ezra?” he asked maliciously. 

Ezra’s eyes went as wide as he could make them with his level of sleep deprivation when Luke pulled out a vibroknife from his belt. He walked towards Ezra’s now exposed stomach and drew a long horizontal line through his skin. Luke looked on in feigned fascination as the blood began to seep out of him. His vision began to dim, and Ezra was ready to welcome the release of death and the subsequent call from the Force to join it. “No!” Luke shouted as he punched him in the stomach as hard as he could. “You need to be awake for this.”

Ezra’s head bobbed and his breath was ragged as he struggled to stay awake, but it wasn’t hard anymore because Luke ordered the technicians to begin the electrocution cycle.

* * *

Outside the Imperial dreadnought, Sabine was preparing to board from Ezra’s ship as it drifted with its power off, toward the command ship. With the fighting on in the next sector over, Sabine was counting on that distraction to allow her to slip below the scanners to get on board unnoticed. Her brother as well as other members of her clan were coming with her; although some were more willing to rescue Ezra than others were. Tristan wanted to help and had followed through with it, her father did too but he was a diplomat and there was no use in trying to negotiate with the Empire, and her mother had to lead the bulk of their clan in combat so they could break the blockade and leave the now-lost planet. She was able to convince some of her clan that they owed him a debt and that gave her enough troops to attempt the daring rescue as anything more than a foolish, if not brave gesture. They locked on to the side of the _Executor_ and sealed the connection with a magnetic hum emanating from the hatch. When they opened the hatch to their ship, they were greeted by the hull of the Destroyer painted in the imperial grey she had come to hate. Sabine thrusted the saber into the thick metal causing a crackling and sizzling to emanate from the glowing armor. To her relief, she was able to reach a maintenance shaft that ran along this portion of the dreadnought. Several of her clan pushed the new door out of the way and infiltrated the ship. The large chunk of matrix armor slammed against the floor of the passageway as the red-hot area it was cut from slowly cooled into the vacuum of space.

They moved through the narrow corridor as quickly as they could towards the detention block after finding its location on one of the terminals. Sabine ran up behind a stormtrooper that was guarding the main entrance and pushed a vibroknife in between the man’s plastoid plates while Tristan choked the other with the grappling cable on his vambrace acting as a garotte. She twisted her knife as she felt the man’s blood run down the knife and soak into her glove. They shuffled the troopers to a closet just inside the detention area and found Ezra’s equipment on one of the shelves that were filled with other prisoner’s gear. < we’re freeing the others as well, right? > one of her clan members inquired. 

Sabine looked at the array of equipment and Mandalorian armor in consideration for a moment. < Only after we secure Ezra. We don’t want to lose our element of surprise by triggering a massive alarm. > Continuing to move towards the control room, they bypassed the sensors that would’ve alerted those inside to their presence. They opened the door to the control room and fired as rapidly as their blasters allowed them to. The workers tried to stand and defend themselves, but Sabine watched the plasma that had left her pistols strike the men before they fell limp against the control panels they were operating. Tristan ran to access the computer and tossed the technician with a still smoking wound off of the console, he quickly located Ezra’s cell from among hundreds. The group, minus two men to secure the control room and free the others, ran down the halls with Ezra’s equipment and came to a halt outside his cell. Inside, they heard screaming, Ezra’s screaming. Sabine a few took deep breaths to steel herself as tears welled in her eyes. Not able to hear his agony any longer, she nodded to the security camera mounted in the corner of the hallway. The door flew open and Ezra’s eyes traveled up to her as she walked down the ramp.

“Agent Gideon, I did not call for you,” Luke said as he started to turn.

Sabine didn’t give him a chance to use any of his Force powers, instead she chose to send him into the nearest wall with her vambrace’s repulsor and stun him with her Westars when he hit it. Ezra was quickly cut down as he began to babble incoherently. He nearly hit the floor as his own legs failed to support his weight, but he was caught by Sabine and Tristan. They grabbed Ezra’s lightsaber from the table, and shot Luke four times with stun bolts so he wouldn’t sound the alarm as they left, much to the confusion of the other Mandalorians. < Why not just kill him? > one of them asked as they filed out of the cell. 

< Because he’s unconscious… believe me I always asked the same thing and got an earful from his master. Letting ‘em live never made sense to me, > Sabine explained as Ezra’s head continued to bob up and down and begin to mutter something about the Jedi way. _“Well, at least he’s half conscious.”_

The , along with dozens of freshly liberated Mandalorian prisoners, ran all the way to their ship without any trouble or interference. Not even a single patrol had crossed their path, much to their collective suspicion. When they turned down the final hallway, they quickly figured out why. In front of them was Agent Gideon, the same ISB agent who had lured both Bo-Katan and Ezra into two separate traps in the same battle. Between him were two columns of stormtroopers with their blasters aimed and ready, and behind them was the access point they needed in order to escape.

“Stay behind me,” Sabine ordered as she ignited Ezra’s old lightsaber and began to advance. Gideon thumbed the switch on the hilt of the Darksaber and it sprang to life, causing all but Sabine to stop momentarily. “You have no claim to that,” she spit out as she picked up her pace towards him.

“Take it from me then,” he challenged cockily as he brought the saber up in a defensive stance. Sabine knew ISB agents were trained in different forms of combat and remembered that Kallus was nearly a match for Zeb, and Zeb almost defend himself from Kanan in sparring, and Kanan had mostly wiped the floor with her during lightsaber duels. Now, she was just hoping that Gideon didn’t have any good saber training. Relying on the Form I she had been taught by Ezra and Kanan on Atollon, Sabine went in for a quick low swipe. Gideon moved back as Sabine quickly brought the saber back into a defensive position. Gideon, relying on his size and strength advantage, brought a simple overhead slash down, which succeeded in putting them in blade lock. Sabine stepped back and withdrew her saber before making another cut at his midsection, which was parried, and following up with one at his neck from the opposite side. She continued to make quick slices around Gideon’s body, making sure to take advantage of the omnidirectional cutting edge and swinging for his joints with pinpoint accuracy. Continuing her rapid onslaught, Sabine and the fire from the others pushed him and the stormtroopers back far enough to allow everyone else to slip into the corridor and make their escape. 

She turned back to check that everyone else had made it through, but that was a laughable mistake as Gideon exploited the opening and swept her legs out from under her. When she regained her focus, she barely had time to roll and avoid the Darksaber blade as it burned into the durasteel floor next to her. She used her small size to her advantage and curled her body before pushing off the wall, rolling herself to the other side of the wide hallway before she had to duck another cut made at her. The steam from the pipe that Gideon had managed to hit worked its way into her helmet, burning her neck where it funneled in and fogged her visor and obscuring the hallway as well as her enemies. 

Thankfully, there was an automatic defogging function in her helmet, and Sabine just hoped she could avoid deadly blows until it worked. She could see the distorted blur of the saber as she did her best to approximate its actual path and leaned back as she stood. The blade grazed her chest plate, leaving a small, singed line across the surface of the beskar. She scrambled back even more as another strike was brought around, aimed for her leg. She continued to give ground, unable to counterattack since she dropped the lightsaber. Gideon then put too much force into an attack that he believed would make contact, but Sabine dived out of the way, rolling and springing to her feet as Gideon stumbled forward. 

Taking advantage of his blunder, the grapple line shot out of Sabine’s vambrace and wrapped around the hilt of her lightsaber. She retracted the line as she drew the saber back, letting the momentum carry the hilt to her as the line unraveled. She caught it and ignited it as her other hand flew to join the defensive grip. Sabine parried a strike and took the opportunity to angle her back towards the corridor entrance. She deliberately gave ground to escape as Gideon hammered her defenses. From behind her she felt someone wrap their forearm around her neck and begin to pull, looking down she saw it was a stormtrooper. Sabine deactivated the saber and brought the emitter right up to his helmet before reactivating it, burning a hole a felling the man instantly. She heard footsteps and turned around as another buckethead lunged for her. Putting a slice through his stomach, Sabine cringed at the smell of the burning plastoid and flesh as he died. She jumped into the corridor as another chop at her head was narrowly avoided.

Gideon stepped into the passage, and she used the small window of time to make another cut at him, successfully grazing his fingers and stalling him for the briefest of moments. She made a deep slash into one of the coolant return lines from whatever turbolaser battery was nearest to them. A steaming hot liquid spewed from the line and burned Gideon’s exposed skin. Sabine heard a trooper behind the agent turning a valve of some sort, probably to stop the flow of the coolant.

Sabine ran down the corridor as fast as she could. She came running up to her clan members after a few turns and knew she had to warn them “They’re still coming!” she shouted. The last three in the line started to fire down the dim and narrow shaft to slow the Imperial advance while the others readied themselves to clear a path forward. Soon fire was erupting from both ends of their column as they pinned down the swelling ranks of troopers. They made it to their ship and once the last Mandalorian was aboard, desperately broke the seal, sending their pursuers into the vacuum as they pulled away. They made a blind jump into hyperspace before the tractor beam could lock on and immediately dropped out a second and a half later, making the crew stumble wildly and drop Ezra into a chair. 

Ezra wheezed in pain as he impacted against the cushioned surface, leaking blood onto the cloth seating. Another fifteen seconds later, the ship once again lurched into hyperspace with a calculated jump as the Mandalorians breathed a collective sigh of relief. 

Sabine grabbed Ezra off the seat as he began to moan again. “Let me go sleep,” he muttered as she all but dragged him down the hall. Blood was still leaking out of him from slices that lined his body. 

“No, Ezra you need to stay awake!” she ordered as she slapped him lightly to keep him conscious. Sabine dragged the immense dead weight that was Ezra Bridger to what was the ship’s excuse for a med-bay. 

She laid him down on the cold durasteel table as he began to pick at one of the earlier, now-scabbing wounds. “Ezra, stop!” she shouted as she pulled his hand away and tried to pin it down. His breath hitched at the sudden movement of his arm and he began to thrash against her grip as if he thought he were back in the interrogation chamber. 

“Tristan! Get in here!” she called as he began to move against her desperately. 

Her brother came running in, eyes going wide at the amount of blood leaking from Ezra as he struggled against her hold. Sabine didn’t notice it before but now he was unnaturally pale. “Hold him down while I get started.”

Tristan complied, not caring about if he got blood on himself, and grabbed Ezra’s arms, trying to pin him to the table. “Osik, Sabine! Calm him down.”

Ezra’s eyes opened a fraction, and he began to look around as he thrashed. “Sabine,” he muttered repeatedly as he moved against Tristan. 

“God, he’s losing blood, how is he getting stronger?” He asked panicked as Ezra’s movements became more intense with each passing second. 

“It’s the Force or something Tristan,” she explained hastily. “Just hold him for another second.”

Ezra continued to mutter her name. Sabine flipped on the mounted scanner and reached for packs of synthetic blood as it scanned Ezra. Despite his movement, the scanner was able to pick up on his vitals, beeping incessantly to warn of Ezra’s still rising heartrate and lack of blood. She needed to slow it down now. She grabbed a sedative off one of the shelves and brough the syringe down hard at his body. Just before the needle made contact with his chest, Ezra’s hand broke free of Tristan’s hold and caught Sabine’s wrist while the other one held Tristan back from him. 

It felt like a vise had clamped down on her wrist as Ezra pushed her back. “Ezra, I need you to trust me,” she pleaded as her wrist started to bruise under the pressure. She moved into his view without her helmet on and his eyes went over her features. 

His breathing somewhat slowed and his thrashing decreased as he stared at her. 

Sabine was finally able to push the needle into his chest and his heartrate quickly began to slow. “Sabi-” he didn’t get to finish before his adrenaline dissipated and he lost focus of what was going on around him. Sabine breathed a sigh of relief and looked to her now tired, blood-covered brother. 

“Get bacta patches for him, now,” she ordered. Tristan began to dig through the supplies as Sabine wiped up his blood and hung the synthetic above his body, allowing it to enter his body by gravity. 

Soon, the bacta patches had been laid over his many fresh wounds, and his condition had stabilized, and the alarms on the various pieces of medical equipment stopped blaring. Sabine naturally went back to speaking Mando’a while she calmed down. < Tristan, I need you to call ahead to Home One and tell Admiral Ackbar or Hera what happened. Tell them we need a rendezvous point and medical staff ready for our arrival, > she commanded as she sat by Ezra’s side while he laid unconscious. 

< Sure, > came the simple but respectful reply.

* * *

Tristan arrived in the cockpit of the ship to make the call. The holo connected and the image of Hera Syndulla appeared over the emitter. “Ez-” she started to say but stopped upon seeing who was calling and looked more than confused with a quickly fading smile. “You’re Sabine’s brother, right? Where are they?”

“Yes, General. And Sabine is with Ezra in the med-bay. We need to rendezvous point with _Home One_ and a medical team on standby.”

“ _Home One_ is… unavailable, you’ll need to head for Lothal. I’ll call ahead and make sure a team is on standby. But first, you need to tell me what happened to them. Are they hurt?”

Tristan shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of the Twi’lek. Sabine seemed to be fonder of than her own mother, but now as he stood before her hologram under her intense stare, he felt that she was just as terrifying if not better at coming across motherly. “Ezra was captured and injured. Sabine’s with him right now, his condition is stable, but he’ll need a real doctor if he’s going to make a recovery.”

She seemed stunned but accepted his explanation for the time being. “Understood. I’ll meet you on Lothal then.”

Tristan walked back to the sorry excuse for a med-bay after he had told the pilot to redirect their course to the small agricultural settlement Ezra called home. He keyed open the door control to see Sabine leaning far closer than their mother would’ve liked to see. There was no question from anyone who knew them that they were together as more than friends by this point, and he even suspected that they were secretly together when he first came to Krownest with her about four or five years ago. Their mother, predictably, despised both Jedi, but Jarrus had become tolerable while she continued to hate Bridger more and more. Maybe it was because Sabine trusted him more than she trusted their own mother, or even himself for that matter, or maybe it was because he was a ‘stupid, incompetent, baby Jedi’ like mother had said after the young man left, much to Sabine’s chagrin. It was true that in her time on Krownest, Ezra was always a touchy subject, he couldn’t be brought up without their mother insulting him, and he couldn’t be insulted without Sabine defending him vehemently, leading to many arguments between two of the most stubborn women in the galaxy. 

To Tristan and their father, he proved himself during the mission to rescue him. And he proved himself to Bo-Katan on Tiber’s destroyer shortly afterwards. According to Sabine, nearly everyone who knew him liked him after long enough, even that monster Maul did before his ship somehow ended up in Ezra’s possession; just another detail about the boy that suggested a far greater ability than he intentionally showed. Then again, Maul seemingly liking someone might not have been a desirable quality. One of the most honorable men he had ever met, Fenn Rau, had an admiration for the boy’s spirit and code of honor, and enough respect to even risk his life to save him after abandoning them on Concord Dawn. 

The only legitimate complaint from most of his more traditional clan members was that Ezra was a Jedi and Sabine, along with the rest of them, was Mando’ade so it was their collective duty to kill him for his people’s past transgressions. He knew for a fact however that his mother had worked with a Jedi named Tano during the siege, and somehow Ezra knew her, and was even partly trained by her. The only positive thing that Ezra had gotten from their mother was a begrudging respect for not only passing the initiation trials on Bo’s orders and winning Tal Kast’s challenge, but for surviving a life as hard as he had lived. At first, they had all believed the boy was pathetically small due to weak genetics, contrary to what was true for most settlers in the outer rim. But Sabine had told them that he was a homeless orphan for most of his life and with that came malnourishment and an overall unhealthy diet and lifestyle, and then he dropped off the map onto some Manda forsaken haran at the edge of the unknown regions after taking out a fleet of Star Destroyers with the Force or some sort of whales in space. _“Gods, there is so much I need to ask him.”_

Now the Jedi lay before him with a battle-scarred body and fresh wounds that would’ve killed any non-Jedi. Sabine looked up at him as he involuntarily winced while looking at Ezra’s condition. “Did you contact Hera?” she asked, the fact she was speaking basic was not lost on Tristan.

“Yes, I did. We’re going to Lothal; she said she’ll have a medical team ready for us when we arrive. Until then, you should get some rest,” he said, making sure the last part came out as a gentle but helpful suggestion. 

“Tristan. I’m fine,” she replied, irritated at what she saw as overprotective doting. Sabine brought a hand up and gently brushed some of Ezra’s hair to the side, internally Tristan wanted to gag at the display of affection but kept it in for her sake. “You can go, Tristan. I’m sure you’re needed up front.”

He went to leave but hesitated with his hand over the door control. “Sabine,” he started as he turned around, internally debating if what he was about to say was even worth the argument that it would inevitably start. “If mother saw this, what would she say?” 

“Probably nothing,” she mumbled. “Ezra told me she took him aside and gave him permission.”

“Huh,” was all he managed to muster up. “Okay then.” Tristan turned and opened the door still surprised at the revelation. He knew it was going to be a long trip to Lothal, so he decided to make use of one of the few remaining troop bunks on the ship.

* * *

Ursa watched in her own, now derelict and disabled ship as Ezra’s detached from the super star destroyer and immediately jumped into hyperspace. Her shoulders slumped slightly as her and the woman copiloting looked at each other. < Do you think this is it? > the younger Wren asked. Ursa didn’t answer, instead choosing to look back out the viewport at an _Imperial_ -II class destroyer that was currently burning and breaking apart. The attack they had made against the blockade was successful, and one by one, their ships exploited the opening, jumping into lightspeed. Some part of Ursa knew they didn’t know she was disabled and drifting in a field of destroyed TIEs and support ships, and they would undoubtedly never stop fighting the Empire if they knew she was alive. But at this point, she knew the odds were against ever seeing her family, or even wider clan, ever again. 

The younger woman stood up and tried to get a look at the damaged wing. < It’s no use, > Ursa informed her. < We hit an ion mine meant for capital ships, there probably isn’t a single system on board that will ever work again. > She slumped in her seat as the copilot flopped heavily in her own. They both stared out at the now cleared battlefield and the countess adopted a forlorn smile knowing almost all of her people had made it out. And she knew it was a sacrifice she’d make again in a heartbeat.

From behind them, a searchlight started to move through the wreckage and slowly scan the debris. It fell upon them and remained still. Ursa stood and turned to the woman in the seat. < This may be our only chance out, > she told her before moving to the back of the ship. They felt their Kom’rk lurch backward as they caught them in a tractor beam and pulled the Mandalorians toward their own craft. Ursa looked out the small window at the rear hatch and surmised that it was some kind of stealth craft by the coating, looking somewhat Imperial, but still decidedly alien in design. < Be ready, >

The two backed up and readied their Westars as they dug themselves into a better fighting position. Sparks started to shower from the door and began to move around the frame as whoever was boarding them began to make a permanently unlocked entryway. The door fell off its rails and landed heavily on the floor as smoke flooded into their ship. The two began to fire yellow blaster bolts into the unknown craft but got no return shots. After a few seconds they stopped wasting shots and two canisters rolled through the door. < Gas! > Ursa shouted shortly before a green cloud began to flood the compartment. Whatever it was, it seemed to be bypassing their helmet’s filters as it flooded the compartment, because her eyes were burning, and the cloud was rapidly making its way into her lungs. 

Any strength she had was quickly sapped as it worked her way into her system, causing her to fall over as she struggled to stay awake. Ursa’s head turned to her companion, who had already fallen unconscious from whatever had been used on them. Her attempts to call out to her had all come out as nothing more than scratchy breaths. The cloud cleared after a few minutes and Ursa tried to get up, but it was no use, it felt like whatever the gas was had shut down her muscles. No matter how hard she tried, her body would not respond. 

Men in black uniforms came into their ship… men in black uniforms with blue skin and red eyes. One of them stopped over Ursa and looked down at her, turning her helmet from side to side as he glanced between her and the datapad he was holding. “Etah're han'ci csahut,” one of them said emotionlessly to the other. 

“Tah carcir rort'avcahn bah csei s han'ci?”

“Han'ci csahut vacosetahn up ch'a tucim can reo rvsenim bah Mandalore. Tsan'ah etah.”

Ursa was lifted off the ground by whatever species was taking her and dragged into their ship as others planted explosives on her Kom’rk. The door sealed behind them, and she felt the rumbling of explosions. The countess was placed in a cell with her armor removed before the man who brought her aboard left the room and locked the door behind him with a few mechanical clicks sounding from the thick slab.

* * *

At the front of the craft the two Chiss lieutenants reengaged their stealth systems and drifted out of the system without drawing attention from the remaining Imperials. While entering hyperspace to retreat to the nearest system, the copilot activated the long-range transmitter with a request for his communication frequency to be routed directly to Thrawn himself. 

Their superior’s imposing form materialized in front of them. [ You have something to report? ] he asked inquisitively. The men exchanged glances briefly, silently trying to decide which of them should be the one to share their findings. After a few seconds the pilot spoke.

[ Legate Admiral, ] he started as he reached down for the older Mandalorian’s helmet. [ While fulfilling our directive to monitor the Empire’s conflict with Mandalore, we picked up two of them. ]

[ Why, might I ask, did you see it fit to possibly expose yourself by collecting their equipment? ]

[ This specific ship’s pilot showed a remarkable propensity for space combat. We assumed under the collection directive that she would make a valuable addition to our forces. ]

[ They were in a ship then? ] Thrawn asked as his hand went to his chin in thought.

[ Yes, struck by an ion mine from a destroyed Imperial cruiser. We made sure that there were no Imperial vessels or Mandalorian vessels in the area. We also made sure they were alive before we proceeded with the operation. ]

[ Very well. Were you able to discern the origin of these two warriors? ]

[ From the information you provided, we believe she is of clan Wren. Her markings are indicative of one of high rank. ]

[ Clan Wren, did you say? ] Thrawn slightly leaned back and began to consider. [ Even if they refuse to join us, they may still be of use to me. Return to Chiss space with them. I will dispatch another stealth craft to your location to monitor the conflict. ]

The two men exchanged glances once again. This time, the copilot was the one who spoke. [ I believe that would be unnecessary, sir. The vessel was disabled after a large assault on the Imperial blockade. A force close to seventy-five percent of your estimation of the Mandalorian resistance’s capabilities to be precise. The craft all fled into hyperspace after taking down a destroyer. Our lifeform scanners also show a significant drop in the planet’s inhabitants and the Empire is beginning to bombard the surface. For these reasons, I believe the fighting to be over on this planet. ]

[ I understand. Return to Csilla at once with the ones you picked up. I await your report. ]

[ Yes, sir, ] the two men replied in unison before disconnecting the communications and erouting their course.


	29. Chapter 29

**Day 198, 3 ABY**

Ezra’s eyes slowly opened on the hospital bed, but he quickly had to squeeze them shut as the overhead lights blinded him. He blinked a few times as the beeping from whatever monitors he was hooked up to blared in his ears. A shadow moved across his vision and obscured the lights, allowing him to keep his eyes open albeit while squinting. The silhouette’s hair tumbled down and the remaining light filtered through it and revealed the shades of bright orange fading to a faint yellow toward the tips. “You all there, Ez?” Sabine asked quietly. Ezra did his best to nod and give an affirming grunt. “Well, work on getting really awake. I could use your help right about now.”

“Well, I’m awake… barely,” Ezra said with a grunt at the aching in his stomach. Sabine looked down at him and sighed despite having a small smile on her face. “Now, what do you need help with?” Ezra sat up in the bed, displacing Sabine while shifting into a more comfortable position.

Ezra saw a pair of Mandalorians standing at the door. One of them was a woman from clan Kryze and the other was from clan Wren. “Lothal has turned into a refugee planet… for Mandalorians.”

Ezra chuckled and turned back to Sabine. “Mandalorians hardly need refuge. Aren’t they usually the ones displacing people?” Sabine frowned at him deeply. “Just kidding,” Ezra quickly amended. “But what’s going on?” Sabine took a few steps back and looked him up and down. “I can walk,” he said, answering her unspoken question. He stood and she quickly led him out of the room toward a window overlooking the spaceport. There had to be hundreds of Kom’rks in the hangars and thousands in the fields beyond. Some were easily recognizable with their familiar color schemes; some were painted in a smattering of colors that he couldn’t recognize or put a clan to.

“Since the Empire scattered our forces on Mandalore, they were reinforced by another flotilla of destroyers. They went from planet to planet and attacked every single inhabited planet. Entire clans perished, some disappeared, a lot ended up here after hearing that clan Wren came here and it was safe,” she explained. “Without us fighting on the same united front, we were easily destroyed at our homes.” Ezra reached over and pulled her close. He ran a calming hand through her hair and did his best to alleviate her pain. “My mother didn’t make it back with the rest of my clan. Her Kom’rk went missing when Bo-Katan ordered the retreat from Mandalore.” The pair walked to another section of the building with the two still following them closely. 

After a few minutes of aimlessly wandering through the halls of the hospital, Sabine sighed and flopped down onto a bench. Ezra reached out with the Force as he sat beside her and felt her anguish and apprehension. “What’s wrong, Sabine?” 

She turned to face him with a look of apprehension from her that he hadn’t seen since before she told him and Kanan about the Duchess. “My mother reinstated me as her heir before I left to free Lothal with you,” she explained. “Since she’s gone missing, everyone has been telling me I need to step up and take her place.”

“Sabine, there is nobody better for the job. I know you’ll be the best countess they’ve ever had.”

“I don’t want to think she’s dead,” Sabine admitted softly. “Taking her place would be me acknowledging her death in the battle.” She crossed her arms over chest defensively and looked down at the ground in shame. 

Ezra sighed at her predicament. “Regardless of whether or not she’s alive… it’s unlikely we’ll be seeing her anytime soon.” He rested a hand on her arm and pulled it away from her chest lightly. “I think it would be the best for everybody involved if you accepted. Clan Wren could rebuild much quicker if you were in charge.”

She sat on the bench with him for a short while, considering his words carefully. Soon though, Sabine’s commlink chimed and she looked at it for a few seconds before abruptly standing up, turning around, grabbing Ezra, and leading him in another direction.

“Where are we going?” Ezra asked after they left the building. 

“We need to see Bo-Katan,” Sabine answered with a slight frown. She climbed into a landspeeder with the others climbing onto their own speeder bikes. They left the city and rocketed across the plains toward his old tower where he saw a blue and gray painted ship parked. Bo-Katan was standing outside the tower with one of her men holding her helmet off to the side. The older woman had a look caught between suspicion and fury on her face as Ezra walked closer to her.

“Bridger,” she commanded. “Stand here.” She turned and pointed to the side of the tower. Ezra looked between her and Sabine in confusion. “I don’t have all day,” Bo-Katan said forcefully. Ezra slowly walked over and stood with his back to the wall. “Why does Vader want you so badly?” she demanded while roughly shoving him against the wall. Sabine started to protest, but Bo-Katan swiftly silenced her with a raised hand. “What made you so special?” 

“I have no idea,” Ezra answered. He reached out with the Force and slowly wrapped his disembodied grip around Bo-Katan’s neck. He kept his grasp loose so she wouldn’t know it was there but stayed ready in case he needed to free himself. 

She pressed harder onto his neck. “What is a portal dimension?” she continued. “Why are you the only one who knows how to get there?” It made a lot more sense in Ezra’s mind now. It was probably the most insane thing he had ever seen, and the Empire inevitably found out about its purpose after him and Sabine had unlocked it. Although, it can to him as a shock that he was the only one who could get inside. “Answer me,” she growled. Ezra tightened the grip around her throat, just enough so she would feel it. A look of discomfort briefly passed over her angered face. 

“It’s a portal thing in the Force,” Ezra answered. “It allows me to change the past, and subsequently, the future. It holds a power so great that I vowed never to access it again.”

Ezra loosened his Force grip on her throat as he sensed her malice drain away. “Change the past…” she muttered while looking out at the fields. 

“I won’t change anything else,” Ezra insisted. “I did it once with Ahsoka. But I will never alter the past again.” Ezra pushed her back and took a step away from the wall. “You can’t make me.” 

Bo-Katan dropped her arm to her side and let Ezra walk away without any more confrontation, but she kept her eye on him as he walked away. Ezra climbed back into the speeder and waited for Sabine while she had a hushed argument with Bo-Katan at the base of his old tower. When Sabine finally got back into the speeder with him, she sighed and powered it up. “Bo happens to think you’re all right. She’s just impossible sometimes,” Sabine complained. Ezra hummed in consideration to her words. “She can barely trust anyone; she thinks she’s in charge wherever she goes…” she started to list before Ezra interrupted her.

“Isn’t she though? She’s the Mand’alor, right?” he inquired.

“Even though I’ve chosen to stay loyal to her, many have decided that she was the one who led us to ruin, and without the Darksaber, her claim is weak,” Sabine explained. “Anyone who manages to take it can claim the throne at this point.” 

_“That would certainly be an interesting prospect,”_ Ezra considered silently. “So, does that mean Gideon is actually the Mand’alor?” he questioned.

Sabine rolled her eyes and scoffed. “No… if you take it from an enemy it must be won in combat. Not looted after an orbital bombardment,” she clarified as they went back in toward the city. When they got back, Sabine requested they go for a brief walk in the city’s market. Ezra quickly agreed and climbed out of the borrowed speeder with her. They milled around the marketplace for a while, wandering aimlessly through the bustling streets and filled fruit stalls. The Mandalorians mingled among the vendors, offering ammunition, explosives, and all sorts of unorthodox forms of currency in exchange for food. Some of them hesitantly took the detonators or packs of blaster gas and carefully set them aside before handing them whatever Jogans or grain they were selling. The Mandalorians, although satisfied, were probably getting the shorter end of the stick while the vendors really had no way to sell the items they got except on the black market, which was nearly non-existent thanks to Sabine’s work while he was away. “You notice it too?” she asked as she eyed a vendor’s child playing with a detonator behind their parent. Ezra nodded in response and they walked over to the kid. 

“Hey, buddy,” Ezra started as he gently cupped the detonator in his hand. “Why don’t you let me have this?” he asked gently. The parent turned around and opened her eyes in shock. Ezra took the detonator and handed it back to the older woman who began to gently chide her son. “You’re taking detonators as payment?” Ezra asked after a few seconds of standing off to the side.

The woman glanced at Sabine and her helmet that was tucked under her arm. “The Mandalorians aren’t exactly rich with credits, and nobody here wants to upset someone with their reputation, so we just take them and tell them to keep the receipt for when they actually get credits.” 

Sabine frowned at the woman. “They’re not going to be angry with you if you don’t want to accept explosives in exchange for fruit,” the Mandalorian reasoned. 

The vendor shrugged as she pulled her child back into the fruit stand. “We don’t know that, and we don’t want them to go hungry while they’re here.”

Sabine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. _“At least they came up with a solution,”_ Ezra considered for a few seconds. “Just keep writing those receipts. We’ll have them some credits soon,” Ezra reassured. They continued their leisurely stroll through the market and picked up some food for themselves before deciding to stop for lunch at one of the many recently opened restaurants. They sat down inside, but his gaze kept getting drawn back to his prospering home planet just beyond the glass. Sabine ordered their food, and they ate in a rather comfortable silence, well comfortable until he looked up and kept seeing the same silent Mandalorians who had been with them all day. “Hey, Sabine,” he opened and waited her to look up from her food. “What’s up with your cousins back there?”

She rolled her eyes before glancing back at the men. When she turned back around, her face was soft again and distraught. “Like I told you before, my mother didn’t make it back. When I returned before, she made me the heir again. They think I’m a countess.”

“Sabine, I meant what I said earlier, you’d be the best choice for the job.”

Sabine sighed and took another bite of her meal while thinking of the best response to his praise. “Well. We don’t exactly have any territory to lord over, and we don’t have any income.” Granted, those were two of the most important things, at least she thought they were. She found herself in fear that she would never be as good as her mother had been regarding running the clan. Ursa had been one of the best leaders they ever had, and as her daughter, Sabine had quite the expectation to live up to, but felt she was just going to end up disappointing her kin and leading them further down a path of ruin.

“Just keep your clan on Lothal,” he suggested casually. “I’m pretty sure the people here would be fine with it unless you got all Imperial on them.”

“You really want that?” Sabine asked. “Our people aren’t exactly going to agree on everything… or anything really.”

“Sabine,” he said. “Lothal is a pretty big planet. If they don’t want you in the city, then there’s entire continents that are uninhabited. Nobody would even care if you took some of that over… Hell, I doubt they’d even notice.” He took a few seconds to look at her. “You’re popular here. They would probably _actually_ like it if you built a stronghold even in the heart of the city.”

Sabine smiled at him. “That’s always nice to hear,” she muttered. “We should probably look into building one then.” In the back of her head, she knew what claiming the throne would have to look like, and she wasn’t a very big fan of it. She would need to be the symbol of her clan, meaning her colorful armor would have to be retired in favor of one painted to match her clan. Also, the small problem of producing an heir would rear its ugly head as soon as she was coronated. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to have a child or didn’t want to marry Ezra. She did. It was just that she wasn’t ready to produce a kid in the middle of a galaxy wide civil war. But before all that was the not-so-simple task of defeating any challengers, which would probably give Ezra a heart attack. “There’s a few things we’ll have to sort out first,” Sabine told him. “After we eat, we’ll need to talk to Ryder.”

They finished their meal, leaving an excess of credits on the table before rising and exiting the restaurant. Their ‘escort’ led them through the city until they got to the government building near the center where they were made to wait outside while the two went inside. “Sabine,” the old man greeted when she walked in first. “Ezra. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Sabine looked him over once from behind her helmet. “I want to talk about my clan.” 

“Of course, of course,” he continued casually. “Please take a seat, make yourself comfortable.” Ezra instantly took the offered chair in front of the older man’s chair. Sabine followed suit after a moment as well. In her mind, it wasn’t ideal. She knew posturing was a big part of negotiating and putting herself in a shorter chair across the desk from Ryder’s own tall and imposing one forced her in a position that made her seem less powerful. Ryder leaned back in his chair and glanced between the two. “Well?” he asked after a couple of seconds of silence. 

“I was looking at my options for building a new stronghold for my clan… and I believe Lothal is my best bet,” she told him.

“Sabine, I don’t think that is in anyone’s best interest. I know you remember the Imperial occupation, hell, you ended it. Some of the people might get the idea that you’re trying to take over our humble planet.” 

Sabine looked at him, she hadn’t been expecting him to pull the ‘Imperial card’ so soon, but that just made it easier to refute she supposed. “My clan would only have a minor stake in the control of the planet. You would still be the governor, but my clan would serve as the military force and handle the policing of whatever area we decide to set up in.” She paused for a moment to gage his reaction. “The welfare of your people would still be a top concern in the government, we would simply be getting the funding otherwise marked for the military and those on active duty can be rolled over into our organizational systems.” He seemed to be slightly open to the idea if his posture was any indication. “Any of our continuing business ventures would also work into the clan’s budget, with whatever extra being deposited into a fund for investment or other use.” 

“Look, Sabine… I don’t think-”

She cut him off with a dismissive wave. “Ryder, we both know your administration is a bit short on cash right now. After a few years, we will have enough income to more than support ourselves. Right now, we have vast reserves hidden throughout the galaxy that we can use to fund weapons development and production. You wouldn’t have to worry about making the TIE Defenders anymore, you wouldn’t have to worry about making small arms or armor. We have metalsmiths and production experts who can manage all that.” The older man sighed, appearing to relent slightly. “Lothal will be safer with an entire Mandalorian clan protecting it.” 

“Fine… You can build it here _if_ you can guarantee it won’t make the city a tempting target. Or make any of my people uncomfortable, oppressed, or otherwise unfairly treated.”

Sabine smiled and nodded regally before grabbing Ezra by the hand and leading him out. “That was quick,” he commented as they walked through the halls together. “You were really good in there.” Her smile grew at his praising, but otherwise, she didn’t respond to it. She led them, with their hands intertwined, to a mid-sized townhouse just beyond the fringes of the government district. It was completely full of crates, leaving hardly any room to walk with the only completely uncovered areas being toilets and beds. 

Sabine walked through each room, seemingly forgetting that she kept their hands fused together as she searched for someone. She finally found whoever she was looking for in the kitchen as he mulled over old blueprints of the Wren stronghold from Krownest. He seemed overly-frustrated as he looked over the seemingly ancient schematics and kept mumbling something while he poured over every single square centimeter. < Nothing was wrong with the old stronghold, > Sabine said firmly. < Nothing short of a planetary shield could’ve stopped what the empire threw at us. >

< But I was thinking, > he said quickly. < What if it had a planetary shield… We could certainly fit one here. We could fit a reactor large enough to power it in one of the pole regions to cool it easier… or even under the ground or water. >

< Good. Keep thinking like that. We’ll be building one here next, > Sabine told him. The man turned up to face her and adjusted his glasses. 

< We’re staying? > he asked. Sabine nodded briefly to answer his question. 

< What would be the best place for a new stronghold? > Sabine inquired. 

< Well, the terrain here does offer a sort of strategic impedance, > her reasoned. < Plains offer no hinderance to heavy vehicles or landing ships, and the mountains won’t allow us to build a facility large enough and also are too far away for us to respond to any military threats to the populace, > he paused his explanation to look at Ezra. < The only feasible option would be to build within the city itself in a way that would allow our buildings to blend in but still retain the military advantages the stronghold had. >

< When can you have a design finished? > Sabine asked. She flipped through some of the blueprints and found some of the designs for the style of architecture being used in the capitol. She looked intently at them and came to the same conclusion as Ezra had… He had been looking into this prior.

He glanced down at Sabine’s hand and then up at her frown. < Well, I’m sure you know by now that I’ve already completed my preliminary designs. > He pulled out a group of large prints from the bottom of the stack. It showed a cluster of towers where the dome had once been, connected by various small energy bridges throughout the floors. Small outcroppings were highlighted and showed landing pads and weapon emplacements. Sabine spread out the papers and looked at them individually. Each tower served its own niche and had a few floors extending into the basement where a network of tunnels was designed to snake underneath the city to various strategically important points. Down between the center of the buildings was a reactor cooled by seawater and nestled underneath a few dozen meters of dirt, and then a few dozen more of permacrete.

There were manufacturing facilities throughout the sprawling underground expanse that were connected to the main tunnels. Lines that would produce everything and anything from small arms and explosives to starfighters and capital ship weaponry could be made on Lothal. Although, making all of that was the lower priority builds, and the first thing to be done would be the main tower which would house the clan and pave the way for their further endeavors. Ezra would readily admit he was impressed with the efficiency of the architects. 

< Great, > she declared. < Ezra come with me, > she ordered. She led him off to the next house over which had significantly less clutter, but all the bedrooms were jam packed with bunks for the clan members who didn’t like sleeping on their ships. Sabine walked into a master bedroom and Ezra instantly noticed his armor off to the side. The paint on his armor was scuffed, scraped, and scarred from the damage in the last battle he was in. Buildings, he figured, tended to do that when they fell on top of you. Sabine grabbed his hands and just held them for a few seconds. “You, know,” Sabine started off softly. “We’re going to need to get married.” Ezra’s face lit up like Sabine had just given him the entire galaxy and he grabbed her in a tight hug. She huffed out a breath as it was squeezed out of her. “Ezra,” she wheezed. “You’re crushing me.”

Ezra released her but kept his hands on his shoulders and stared intently at her eyes. “I would love that.” He kept his eyes on her for a few more seconds before Sabine got a mischievous grin. 

“I would love that too, Ezra Wren.” 

He recoiled slightly. “Wren?” he asked alarmed. “Aren’t you supposed to take my name?”

Sabine scoffed at him. “Your ‘clan’ is a less prominent one in Mandalorian society,” Sabine reasoned. “You’ll have to take my name just like my father took my Mother’s.” Ezra muttered something into her shoulder about something about her tradition steeped stubborn people. She did her best to console him, wrapping her arms around him in a loving way. “I’m sorry Ezra,” she said upon realizing how he felt. “I shouldn’t have made that into a joke.” Sabine pulled back from him. “But I will need to repaint your armor to Wren colors,” she told him to change the subject. “Mine too,” Sabine finished, kicking the ground dejectedly. She frowned at the end of her thought. It was one of the things that set her apart from her kin, even though there were many such things, losing even one just felt wrong to her. 

She decided that she better set to work and stripped off her armor. Ezra glanced at her repeatedly even though he was trying his best not to stare at her. Sabine noticed this of course but wasn’t offended in the slightest. They were getting married soon, and the thought of that excited her to no end, but it was good to know that Ezra still found her attractive enough to blush in her presence even at the slightest bit of being undressed. She laid their plates out side by side and got to work on wiping paint thinner across her meticulous artwork. Ezra watched her work as he always liked too but stayed silent while she started to polish the beskar to a shining finish. The gold and black highlights were added next in the various patterns and intensities that would help denote her status as a countess, and his status as her husband. There was a question niggling at the back of Ezra’s mind as he watched the glistening paint dry. “Wouldn’t the shining just make it easier to see us in a fight?” He asked with genuine curiosity.

“Yeah,” she deadpanned. “But it also makes it easier for our clan to see us. We’re supposed to be an inspiration on the battlefield. So, we need to be visible.”

“Well, you’ve always been a sight to behold,” Ezra replied trying to flirt. He heard Sabine’s scoff and saw her eye roll in her reflection on the beskar, but still smiled to himself at her reaction. It took hours for her to finish the first coat due to the amount of precision and care she put into each line. But when she finished, the colorful lines gleamed slightly under the light she had set up to dry it. 

“When I finish that armor, we’re getting some people here as witnesses and we’re getting married,” Sabine declared.

“How about the _Ghost_ crew? We haven’t seen any of them in a while.”

“We need some Mandalorians too. Like my father and Bo-Katan if she has time.” Sabine climbed up onto the bed with him and maneuvered herself under the covers with Ezra soon following. “You know, you’re gonna have to stay on Lothal for a little while so you can recover, right?” she questioned softly.

Ezra frowned slightly but didn’t make any verbal objections. “Yeah,” he said simply. He knew the rebellion could function without him and Sabine, they have been for months, and already had for years. But something about not going back felt off to him. “I guess I can stick around for a little while. Help you out and work on rebuilding Lothal some more.” 

“Sabine turned off the lights but kept her communicator close in case it went off while they slept. Soon, the two were resting peacefully.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **AN: Alrich was actually not a Wren originally, and did indeed take his wife’s surname for the prestige it held in Mandalorian society, at least that’s what wookieepedia says...**


	30. Chapter 30

**Day 220, 3 ABY**

Ezra and Sabine both waited in their armor at the edge of the hangar while the _Ghost_ came in on its landing vector. Hera brought it in fast, but the final touchdown came gentle with the usual skillfulness she brought when flying her beloved ship. The ramp was lowering as soon as the engines had been shut off, and Hera and Zeb came out with Chopper and the ‘replacements’ for Sabine, Ezra, and Kanan. Kallus and Rex had been obvious choices to Hera but choosing a third member was somewhat of a challenge. There was always the competency requirement to run a ship as old and modified as the _Ghost_ but there was also the dreaded ‘Chopper test.’ It wasn’t a real test, but more of an examination of whether or not Chop would try and kill the new crew member after a few days of them being on board, which Ezra had nearly failed quite memorably.

The newest member was a female Twi’lek they had met on that mission they took to Ryloth. Ezra was pretty sure her name was Numa, or something like it. By the way he moved behind her without grumbling or making a derogatory gesture, the two were pretty sure the little droid had accepted her as a member of the crew. Perhaps she had an advantage from being around Chopper in Hera’s younger years. Then again, from the way she split from the Free Ryloth movement the first time, maybe it wasn’t an advantage. Hera was holding a child in her arms with a full head of green hair and curious teal eyes that darted around the hanger and soaked up everything they possibly could. “Mama,” the boy said to Hera. “That them?” He pointed at Sabine and Ezra, much to Hera’s displeasure.

“Jacen, what did I tell you about pointing at people?” she chided. They all stepped off the ramp and continued walking toward the group. Chopper rushed ahead of the group and rolled up to them while bleeping out his way of greeting. 

He stopped just short of them. {Do not trust the new mechanical unit,} he insisted as soon as he came to a stop in front of Ezra’s legs. 

“I don’t know who you’re talking about, but I trust it more than you,” Ezra replied due to being far too familiar with the droid’s antics. Chopper’s dome swiveled toward him and his spark projector came out of his casing. The jolt of electricity impacted against his shin guard and all that made it through the plate and the body glove was a slight tingling. Ezra hummed in amusement at his attempt but looked up at Hera. “What new ‘mechanical unit’ is Chop referring to?” 

Hera glared at the droid with an expression that was liable to fry his circuits. “It was _supposed to be_ a surprise. We got you a wedding present,” she explained while continuing to frown at her own astromech. “The droid is trustworthy,” Hera insisted. “Chopper is just jealous he’s a lot newer.”

“It’s line just finished the prototype stage a few years back. It’s an R6 series astromech,” Kallus explained usefully. “Much better than this menace.”

Hera’s glare turned to him. “ _You_ are _NOT_ helping.” She turned away from him and back to Ezra. “This is my son, Jacen. You didn’t get a chance to meet him before because I left him with my father on Ryloth.” Ezra waved to the small child within Hera’s arms as the conversation went on.

“Right… sorry, captain.”

“Forget everything you just heard,” Hera ordered. “As far as you know, there’s no droid.”

Sabine rolled her eyes at the woman. “Riiiight,” she drew out before turning down one of the side halls “Speeder’s waiting,” she told everyone. Ezra jogged ahead of everyone to catch up to his soon-to-be wife while the rest of the group kept a few feet back and muttered to themselves. The group walked into the urban area surrounding the spaceport where a few speeders were sitting with their drivers looking bored out of their minds. The coming week would be busy for Sabine and Ezra. Not only was their marriage finally happening, and the construction on the stronghold just starting, but she had begrudgingly accepted that her mother had likely perished in their retreat from Mandalore, and she publicly agreed to take the role of Countess.

All of them were brought out to a small area in the mountains just outside of Lothal to where Alrich was waiting along with Tristan, Bo-Katan, and Fenn Rau all standing off to one side. < Do you really need this many witnesses? > Bo asked upon their arrival.

< This way we have all our bases covered, > Sabine explained. With everyone present, there would be little doubt to the legitimacy of their marriage. “Now, the quicker everyone’s ready, the quicker we can be done out here.”

Ezra nodded eagerly, much to everyone’s amusement as he stood across from Sabine, smiling like an idiot. They both practiced the vows impatiently over the last twenty-two days while they waited for a time where Hera could get away from the rebellion. Now, they stood in between a few snow-topped stone mountains with everyone standing around and waiting for the two. “Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar’tome, mhi me’dinui an, mhi ba’juri verde,” Ezra and Sabine said together. 

Off to the side, Kallus leaned over to Hera. “What did they say?” he asked the Twi’lek. 

“I have no idea, Kallus.” They both watched Ezra and Sabine seal their vows with a long kiss. She felt a swell of pride in her chest at the sight of them. Sabine hugged her father tightly before turning back toward Ezra and leading him to Hera and the others. “Was that it?” Hera asked when they got to them. “I was expecting something more… explosive from you, Sabine.” 

The young woman smiled for a few seconds at what she considered praise. “Let’s head back to the _Ghost_ ,” Sabine decided. She and Ezra told her family and Bo-Katan what they were doing, and they quickly agreed to meet up with them tomorrow. The speeder ride back in the cool air was a pleasant change in Sabine’s opinion. Lothal was a hot planet, at least to her, having grown up on a frozen tundra planet. She was surprised at first that Ezra had agreed to sleep with their room’s climate controls the way she liked. The stronghold on Krownest may have had heating ducts running throughout the building, but not even the state-of-the-art system they had could withstand the sub-freezing temperatures of a Krownest night. Hera, however, was shivering as much as Numa in the chilly breeze. 

When they finally got back, they all went inside the ship’s cargo hold. Hera set Jacen into his bed inside Sabine’s old Cabin and came back out to join the others. “How’s everything going here?” Kallus asked Sabine and Ezra.

“It’s going great,” Ezra answered. “We just started building a new stronghold where the Imperial dome used to be. It’s big too. Like a few towers that are around the size of the others, and there’s going to be a planetary shield.”

“How are you going to get a planetary shield?” Hera asked with a note of suspicion. “The alliance can’t even find a seller.”

“Scarif,” Sabine answered on the fly. “The main generator was on the other side; all we need to remake is the gate. We can do that here.” Sabine leaned back in her seat, impressed with her own work as she relaxed.

“You’re making Lothal into a fortress,” Zeb commented. “Alliance might not like that. Mothma might say it’s a Mando power grab.”

“I’m not letting my home fall to the Empire because Mon Mothma wants a shield that she’s really not willing to scavenge unless someone else is doing it for her,” Ezra replied casually. “Besides, she’s more than welcome to try and take it before us.”

“Tread carefully, Bridger,” Kallus said. “That woman may seem pleasant, but she can be absolutely ruthless.”

“How can she get to me? I’ll have planetary shield,” he pointed out cockily. He turned to Sabine with a stupid smirk on his face. She rolled her eyes and punched him in the arm playfully.

“Well, time for the surprise that totally wasn’t ruined earlier,” Hera said while glaring at Chopper and then at Kallus. She let the glare disappear from her face as she turned to Zeb and nodded at the Lasat, who stood with a sigh and walked off to his cabin. 

He emerged a few seconds later grumbling at a droid. He slapped the top of its dome and pointed at the two of them. “Those are you owners now,” he told the astromech. “Sabine, Ezra, this is R6-H3, Your wedding present.” 

The pair had the decency to look surprised for the sake of Hera and the droid. “Wow,” they both said with feigned surprise. “This is actually amazing,” Ezra continued, genuinely impressed with the unit in front of them. He ran a hand over the unpainted dome, causing the droid to purr as if it could feel him touching it. 

“I left him unpainted for you, Sabine,” Hera said with a smile. The droid would still be silver from the factory without the extremely basic primer coating. 

“Thanks, Hera,” Sabine said. “A droid would do us good. I know I don’t need to tell you how much of a pain it is to calculate jumps without one.” She looked down at her chronometer and back up to Ezra. “We should probably go soon,” she told the younger man. Ezra took a second but seemed to catch on after a minute and then nodded excitedly. 

“Ew,” Zeb said looking between the two. “We didn’t want to know about your consummation.”

Sabine glowered at him for a few seconds. “We were talking about seeing my father and brother,” she shot back at the Lasat. “Besides, we’re polite enough not to saying anything when you and Kallus sneak off.” 

Both of their hands went up defensively. “We’re not… the two of us don’t… we’re just friends,” Kallus stammered out. 

“Uh-huh, sure,” Ezra said in disbelief. He stood to go, Sabine quickly following him as they stretched their legs. They said their goodbyes and left toward the city with their new droid in tow. R6 was silent the whole ride back with the exception of a few soft clicks and whirs from his inner mechanisms keeping his computer running and his processor working. It didn’t take long to reach the group of townhouses clan Wren had begun to rent when they first made it to Lothal. Her kin had begun to celebrate the wedding once Alrich had returned without even waiting for Sabine and Ezra to arrive. They walked through the courtyard between the houses where many of her clan had spilled out and began random sparring matches and other competitions. A cheer erupted through the cramped house right when they walked into the door. Ezra waved nervously at them before a drink was pressed into each of their hands as clan Wren chanted an old celebratory hymn. Ezra picked up on most of the words, and it seemed to be that the song was about killing Jedi in battle, but it was the thought that counts. “Why does it sound like they’ve happily killed me?” Ezra asked Sabine and Alrich. 

“They think of this as one less Jedi and one more Mando’ade,” the older man explained. “It’s the only way they know how to convey their acceptance of you.” He looked over to Sabine with a smile. Those two knew Ursa had finally come around and allowed them to marry, but the rest of the clan was seemingly unaware until Tristan ended up accidentally telling someone else when the rest of the clan arrived on Lothal, from there it spread like wildfire that the usually stoic and cold woman had accepted their people’s mortal enemy to be the heir’s riduur. “Now… about making me some grandchildren.”

Sabine instantly cringed at her father. “Now?!” She wore a mixture of awkward disgust and embarrassment on her face.

“If not now, then when? You never know if Ezra will die tomorrow.”

“Father!” she growled quietly as to not disturb the festive mood. “Don’t talk like that!” The thought itself terrified her; she couldn’t imagine losing him so soon after officially getting him. She unconsciously grabbed at his hand and squeezed it firmly. She looked over at Ezra for the first time since Alrich’s comments and she quickly noticed how flushed his face was. “You can have your grandkids when we’re ready,” she informed her father without looking away from Ezra. “If he’s ready now…” she trailed off suggestively and allowed her eyes to dart off toward the bedroom at the end of the hall. 

Ezra felt his eyes nearly bug out of his head as her hand brushed against his thigh. _“Maybe Zeb’s consummation comment was more accurate than I thought,_ Ezra considered.

“I didn’t mean to start right here,” Alrich half-joked. “Go back to your room for that.”

Several of the clan members surrounding them laughed aloud. Sabine glared at a few of them before adopting a mischievous grin. “Fine,” she said simply before dragging Ezra off to the bedroom they shared the night before. She hid her smile as the whooping and laughter from her clan echoed around them.

* * *

The next morning Sabine awoke and went to stand up but found herself held down by a familiar pair of strong arms. Memories of the night came rushing back to her. It was like the many other nights they spent like that, but something about it made it much more intimate. His hand resting protectively over her stomach began to answer that question for her. “Morning ‘Bine,” he throatily mumbled from behind her. “You sleep good?”

She smiled and closed her eyes to relish the warmth of his body. “Mm-hmm,” she hummed after rolling over to face him. She leaned in for a quick kiss which quickly evolved into a much deeper one after a few seconds. She ran a finger down his chest, “You must be hungry from your performance last night… I know I am,” she speculated. “I think I’m going to go get a little something to eat.”

Ezra pulled her against his body. “You should shower first,” he mumbled into her neck. “ _We_ should shower first,” he corrected. She gasped as she felt him brush up against her and kiss her neck. “Besides, your hair is all frizzy.” He let her go when she playfully elbowed him but followed her into the attached refresher and into the shower. After enough time spent ‘showering’, they left to go find some food in the communal kitchen. Leftovers from the previous night’s celebrations were obviously the top choice for them, and it went on late enough that some of them still seemed to be warm. They saw their droid in the corner, knocked over and left on to drain his power cells. Ezra went over and lifted him up before dusting it off. “You all good, buddy? What happened to you?”

{Mandalorian organics knocked this unit over after discovering lack of alcohol within,} the droid explained. Ezra rolled his eyes at how foolish they could be when they were drunk, but otherwise kept quiet as to not incur Sabine’s ire. 

“Maybe Sabine can paint you today,” he consoled. “Then you’d look less like a barrel of liquor.” Ezra turned back to her and saw her smiling down at him and the droid happily. 

“That would probably be a good idea,” she responded. She walked back into their room and quickly put the final coat on their armor, making sure to cover up the blemish where Chopper zapped Ezra, before returning with her spray gun ready. She had the little aerosol canisters on her belt to paint him in the same Wren color scheme she had to redo their own armor in. it didn’t take long for her to finish, and the droid came looking out as ostentatious as every other member of Sabine’s clan did in their overly flashy armor. As she had explained it to him once, many clans chose their colors based on what they were known best for or which values they held dearest. Although the different colors had different precise meanings among the clans, the basic elements were the same; however, in the case of clan Wren, the gold and silver was chosen because at the simplest level, they were filthy rich from the abundance of rare ore on Krownest and the surrounding planets. Wars had been fought and entire clans had been wiped out over them attempting to encroach on the Krownest system and claim some of the wealth for themselves. After having won undisputed control of their swath of space after generations of conflict, clan Wren was rich enough that they were able to add solid gold embellishments onto their armor, although most just settled for paint made with gold flakes in it.

After the hours had bled by, the paint was dry and more sober pleasantries were exchanged with members of their clan. But eventually, she conceded that it was time for the coronation to commence. They were all brought to the government building and were ushered into some back room by Alrich to get ready for the ceremony. She smiled as he rocked nervously on his feet and put on some extra plates to make himself look important. 

Sabine, more than anyone, was absolutely astonished nobody had challenged her claim to the throne. Although it was a strong, direct lineage from her to her mother, Sabine had still created an abomination that had gotten her banished from her clan. But after its destruction, most of her kin seemed to believe she had atoned for her sins, especially after she used it to take out the stormtroopers and then the destroyer they were on.

“Force… are they almost done?” Ezra demanded impatiently. 

“Ezra, coronations are a big deal,” Sabine sighed. “They’re obviously going to overdo it,” she finished as she rubbed the bridge of her nose in irritation. Her aggravation wasn’t centered on Ezra, more on the fact they barely got a lick of sleep the previous night… although it was somewhat his fault.

Ezra rubbed the back of his head with his gloved hand as he drew in a sharp breath. “Ow!” he hissed quietly as his hand shot to his side.

“What, you big baby?” Sabine asked mockingly.

“This armor… It keeps pinching me… so bulky,” he explained as he began to mess with the plates. Sabine slapped his hands away and gave him a hard glare. “What?” he demanded as she stared at him.

“It’s ceremonial, di’kut… obviously it’s going to be bulky. Besides, you only have to wear it for today.” His movements and mannerisms were still a little difficult because of the amount of armor on his body. Sabine turned away for a second and he managed to remove one of the smaller plates on his flank, she turned back to see him holding it and casting it a sideways glance. She sighed angrily and ripped it from his hands before sticking it back onto the body glove. “Just. Stop. Touching. It.” She growled, punctuating every word. 

“They’re ready for you, Countess,” said an armored warrior as he entered the room and bowed slightly.

“Alright,” she sighed nervously. “Let’s get it over with.” 

Ezra drove his helmet onto his head to hide his flushed face and obvious embarrassment.

Sabine stood and walked out of the room with Ezra and the other Mandalorian following her. Ezra on the right, the other, Atin, as he remembered on her left. They both paused at the base of what was acting as the throne and Bo-Katan walked forward with Rau and the head of house Vizsla close behind. Ezra and Atin bowed their heads at the Mand’alor as rehearsed as Sabine went down on one knee and bowed her head fully. < I pledge myself to your service, my lady, > Sabine declared proudly in front of everyone who managed to fit into the chamber.

< Then rise and prove your claim, > the older woman replied as she took a step back. 

Sabine stood and reached behind her, grabbing a box that she wouldn’t tell Ezra the contents of. < If you accept, Mand’alor… > she said as she outstretched her arms with the box still latched.

Bo-Katan unclipped the golden latch on the rich wooden box, lifting the lid slowly. From his bowed position, Ezra could just make out the hilt of a lightsaber. _”What the?”_

His thoughts were interrupted by the Mand’alor addressing him directly. < A worthy dowry, wouldn’t you say, Ezra? > she asked with a nearly unnoticeable devilish smirk at him.

< Quite so, my lady, > he answered as he held back his surprise and anger. 

She closed the lid and latched it shut before taking the box from Sabine and handing off to Rau. < Very well then, Sabine Wren, Countess of Lothal, > she said as she took another step back and lowered her head slightly as a token of respect before leveling her gaze on Ezra. < Your life belongs to her, protector, > she told Ezra while still using his old title.

Ezra bowed his head slightly as confirmation and muttered in basic, “Don’t I know it.” He didn’t think anyone could hear it, but he could sense Rau and Bo’s amusement, Sabine’s irritation, and Atin’s confusion. He knew at this point that he screwed up, “sorry,” he said a little quieter, making Rau choke off a laugh stoically, while the Bo got more amused. Sabine’s anger dissipated, and he could tell that she too was trying to suppress her amusement as she realized everyone thought his stupidity was more or less endearing in such a setting. 

Bo-Katan left with Rau and the house leader following while Sabine, Atin, and Ezra went back to the room they had been waiting in. Sabine glared at Ezra despite the smallest of smiles on her face as he took off the helmet. “Are you stupid?” she demanded as he sheepishly looked at her and shrugged nervously.

Ezra took his foot out of his mouth a few seconds later. “Yeah,” he blurted out nervously, hoping to get her to laugh a little. She did her best to school her expression into something neutral.

“You can take off that ridiculous armor now.” Ezra was already stripping off the plates before she even finished, bringing the set of armor back to what he liked. Bo-Katan and Rau walked into the room, but Lord Vizsla wasn’t with them this time. 

< How’s the stronghold coming along? > Bo-Katan asked while she took off her helmet and brushed her hair off to the side. Behind her, Rau stood with what looked like something bundled up in a silky looking bag.

< Excellent, > Sabine answered simply. < We started construction on the first tower and we’re using some Imperial mining equipment to start working on our tunneling system. >

Atin held up a datacard. < Would you like to see, Mand’alor? > The Mandalorian walked forward with a data card and plugged it into the holoprojector. A cluster of buildings came up that looked like the rest of the towers in the capital and expanded beyond the original coastline with newly laid dirt creating an extension. He switched through the different images he had, muttering something until he came upon a view that showed the above ground and underground portion of the complex. Underneath the buildings that would be the highest in the city was a shield generator that was as large as the one in the Imperial dome and was powered by an independent reactor that was also housed underneath. A series of narrow pipes drew water in to cool the reactor without allowing an infiltration point. Various large tunnels were accessible through blast doors large enough to fit a Kom’rk through. Each one connected the stronghold to various hidden hangars and bases around the city, allowing for a response that wasn’t hindered by surface traffic. Underneath that, a series of small tunnels connected to a large room lined with bunks that was designated as a civilian shelter in case of invasion. There were large storehouses, hydroponics facilities, and water treatment plants all throughout the expansive and undoubtedly expensive underground complex that would ensure the city outlasting a siege. Back on the surface, the towers kept hidden turbolaser and missile batteries as well as large ion cannons that would help them keep the city skies clear from any unwanted visitors.

Sabine looked at it proudly. 

< Have you ever heard of a budget? > Bo asked sarcastically. 

< Well, we have stolen a lot of equipment from the Empire, so that’s not a problem, and we definitely stole enough raw material from them to build a Starfleet. The budget now is just wages and such, and what we were able to take from Krownest more than covers that. >

< You emptied the vaults? >

Sabine nodded. < Everything from the credits to our pallets of beskar to our old sets of armor and weapons. We cleared every vault completely and made it out easily. Besides, we’ve taken millions of Imperial credits from their convoys. >

< Well, maybe when your clan is taken care of, you’d be willing to help me out. But just so you know, I don’t plan on building my stronghold on any old planet… > Bo-Katan hinted with Rau frowning slightly. Ezra was able to catch onto what she meant immediately. It was obvious to him that she wanted somewhere important, and Sabine wouldn’t allow it to be Lothal or Krownest due to their value, so he surmised she wanted Mandalore itself to house her citadel. 

< Well, that all depends on mining rights, > Sabine replied. Ezra, as always, was impressed with how quickly she managed to catch onto her plans. < Can’t have one clan controlling a principal stake in the beskar mines. > It clearly didn’t take long for Sabine to switch her mindset from young rebel to Countess with foresight, and with just a few seconds on the topic she was already clashing with someone trying to muscle their way into a downed market. < The only way I’d support your building there is if clan Wren had their own mining rights in a section of the planet I choose. >

< You know, you’re a little too smart for your own good sometimes, > Bo joked as she reached out and ruffled Sabine’s hair. < But… your terms are agreeable, > she decided after a few seconds of deliberation. < Oh, and Rau and I have a gift for you. >

< Rau and you? > Sabine asked while cocking an eyebrow at the older woman. < You know what? I’m not even going to ask. > Rau looked away from Sabine ever so slightly out of embarrassment and handed her the bag he had been holding. Inside was a replica of Sabine’s mother’s armor minus the paint. 

< I know how much you love having the unique armor, so we figured we could get a set like your mother’s for you to paint up into the Wren colors, that way you can paint the old set the way you like it again. >

< Thanks Rau, that’s impressively thoughtful even for you. >

< It was our pleasure, Sabine. > he replied before the two turned to leave as if on some sort of silent signal.

“Let’s get painting!” she exclaimed after the door sealed shut behind them.


	31. Chapter 31

**Day 235, 3 ABY**

Sabine woke up feeling the space in their bed that usually occupied Ezra was cold and devoid of his presence. She opened her eyes and quickly turned to see if he was somewhere close. His clothes, armor, blasters, and lightsaber were all missing. She grabbed her comm and keyed it to Ezra’s frequency. There was no response, but its positioning data placed it at the old Jedi temple that got destroyed during the Imperial mining operations there. It would’ve taken him a few hours to get there, so she figured he must’ve left early in the morning, earlier than anyone else would’ve been awake. She sighed and decided whatever administration duties she had for the day could wait, right now, she needed to go see what he was up to. 

She finally got there around midday and worked her way through the crumbled debris in time to see Ezra thrown into a wall with enough force to knock his breath away. “Too hard,” he wheezed as he slumped against the ground. He laughed a little as he called his lightsaber back into his hand and parried a blow from a red lightsaber that was thrown at him. He rose tiredly and moved back toward whatever he was fighting. Sabine snapped out of her surprise and rushed in to help him. In the small arena like area was Ezra fighting the Sith Lord they first met on Lothal just after breaking Kanan out of Tarkin’s destroyer. She pulled her blasters and fired a volley at Vader. Ezra’s head snapped toward her in surprise as the yellow bolts passed clean through Vader without doing damage. “Sabine?” he asked in shock. Ezra batted the next blow aside, “Wait, hold on a sec,” he told Vader, the Sith dropped his saber to his side and deactivated the blade. “What’re you doing here, Sabine?” Ezra asked.

Sabine holstered her blasters but kept her hands resting on them. “I was looking for you… what’s all this?” she questioned while gesturing at Vader. 

Ezra looked at Vader, and then at something she couldn’t see yet. “Training,” he offered simply. 

“Training… with Vader?” 

Ezra chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. “Not exactly,” came his hesitant reply. “He’s not real.” Ezra walked toward Vader and stuck his hand through his chest. “He’s kind of like a Force projection.”

“Like us,” an unfamiliar voice said from where Ezra had just been looking. Sabine peeked around some of the temple debris and saw three figures standing amongst each other. She remembered master Yoda from the planet they rescued him from. The other two were unfamiliar to her; however, one was in traditional off-white Jedi robes with his gray hair and a semi scraggly beard while the other was dressed in some overly bulky battle armor that looked more ceremonial than functional with his on hair being well cut and kept. “Hello, Sabine,” the stranger in the Jedi robes greeted. “I am master Obi-Wan Kenobi.” She knew the name, a lot about the name actually. Kanan had mentioned him a lot while training and he was the first voice she had ever heard speak on the holocron. 

Sabine continued to stare at them and tried to figure out how it all worked, but decided it wasn’t worth the time or effort to figure it out. “Hey, Kenobi,” she replied after a moment of looking at his translucent form. “Master Yoda.” The small green Jedi nodded once in greeting. She just gave a half-hearted wave to the man in battle armor, not sure of his name but still feeling something off about him. Ezra walked over to her, but she caught a glimpse of Vader fading from existence behind him. “Were you finished?” Sabine asked him as he made it over to her.

“Not quite, but I was doing well enough. That was the third time I’ve faced him today.”

Sabine glanced around and noticed the lack of any form of transportation around. “Wait, how did you get out here?” 

“Lothwolf,” he answered simply. “Picked me up at the edge of the plains and took me out here.”

Sabine frowned at his explanation that she would’ve doubted if she hadn’t spent years surrounded by all the Jedi stuff. “Where’s Kanan’s ghost?” she found herself asking.

“He likes to watch over Hera and Jacen… he knows I’m covered well.” Ezra looked away from her. “Master Yoda, how’s it going with Ackbar’s fleet?”

“Elusive, it proves to be. As of yet, nothing,” Yoda replied. “Amiss, something seems to be. Skywalker was bold, but now…” he trailed off and frowned. “Needed in the bridge, I am. Get going, I must,” he replied. Ezra nodded to show his confirmation and quickly turned back to Sabine. 

“I think I’m all finished here, if you want to get going,” he told Sabine. Ezra clipped his lightsaber back onto his belt and walked over to her. 

Sabine rolled her eyes at him. “Yeah yeah, just stop running off like that.” Ezra gave his ghostly masters a small wave and proceeded off with Sabine. “We need to talk to the alliance,” she informed him after they both got comfortable in the speeder. “They should probably know where we stand,” she sighed as she looked over at Ezra, pausing for a moment before continuing. “And it should probably be in person.”

Ezra called ahead to the spaceport and had their ship repaired and quickly followed up with a call to Alrich and Tristan to tell them they would be gone for a few days to sort out some business with the rebels. Their ship, much to Ezra’s surprise, was completely stocked and ready when they arrived at the spaceport so they could depart immediately. They lifted from Lothal’s surface relatively easily and flew smoothly into hyperspace with the location of the rebellion’s newest base uploaded to their navi-computer courtesy of their new droid. Ezra fired up the long-range communications array and raised the rebel’s frequency. Some comms technician answered and looked up at the two in their Mandalorian helmets. “Please tell Senator Mothma that Commander Wren will be there soon.”

“Uh certainly, sir,” he replied quickly. “I’ll pass on your message.”

The transmission was cut off, leaving the newlyweds alone on their ship. {Shut down and recharge procedures initiated,} their droid announced even though it its battery was completely charged. 

Sabine and Ezra turned to face each other with knowing smiles on their faces. “Now, I wonder what they told him about us,” Sabine said mischievously. Sabine moved from her seat to sit in his lap. “You think we should prove them right?” she breathed huskily against his lips. Ezra hummed in confirmation right before their lips connected. They stayed like that for a while until Ezra abruptly stood and carried her to the cabin on the ship without bothering to lock the door behind them. 

They left the room when the proximity warning from the navigation system sounded, telling them they were soon arriving at Ziost. The ship dropped from hyperspace to reveal their cold and barren destination. As he always did when arriving at a new planet, Ezra reached out with the Force to get a feel for the planet. He found it to have a cold Sith-like energy much like Yavin, but not in the same twisted way. It was much more… _official_ if he could choose a word to describe it. It was almost like it belonged there, and the people accepted it. Yavin, before they lost it to the Empire always had a feeling like something dark was watching from the shadows, but this place was like the darkness once held the planet strongly and was much more open. Thankfully for him, Ezra also found the presence much more diminished and therefore, much easier to dismiss and ignore while he was there. 

Their landing vector led them to an airstrip in the midst of an ice-locked and crumbling city from thousands of years ago with the only accessible building being an old fortress with updated weapons. Mon Mothma was on the landing pad with Hera and a few other men in tow. “Commanders, welcome back,” the older woman greeted warmly. “What do you think of the Orbital Defense Command Center?” she asked while gesturing at the unfrozen building. The pair paused for a moment to really take it all in. The design was clearly old but withstood the unyielding march of time well. Most of it was still standing without any structural damage and even had better defense points than a lot of modern Imperial architecture. 

“A real work of art, ma’am,” Sabine answered. She took off her helmet and smiled back at the senator. “Could we go inside to talk? I bring news concerning Ezra and I.” 

“Of course, Sabine,” Mothma said. “And I would like to be the first here to congratulate you and Ezra on your wedding.”

“Thank you, senator,” Ezra replied. She nodded regally and turned to lead them inside the building. A ray shield snapped shut behind them and the halls lit up in a bright white glow that was angled at the entrance from multiple fixtures throughout the hall. 

“It takes some getting used to, but it keeps a glare on the attackers, so our defenders are harder to spot,” Hera informed them kindly. “The designers of this building wanted to make it impenetrable which is turning out really well for us.”

The tour continued with obvious holes cut into the durasteel ceilings where auto-turrets would deploy instead of sending men out to force the attackers back. Sabine continuously admired the defensive capabilities of the base, even if the architecture made her skin crawl. Eventually, they were led into an antechamber that had a small platform with seating surrounding it on all sides. Mon Mothma stood at the holotable in the center with a few generals next to her. “Now, what was it you came here to discuss?” the senator asked while her gaze flicked between them. 

Sabine stepped forward to talk for both of them. “With the loss of my clan’s home planet, we are forced to reestablish a stronghold and base of operations. We have chosen Lothal to be our new base. Ezra and I will have to take an extended leave of absence from the rebellion in order to truly establish the stronghold and allow my clan to regain its footing.” 

Mothma frowned at her briefly, “I must ask you to undertake one more mission on behalf of the rebellion,” she informed them and turned on a star map with a blinking dot in a far off and barren system. “We have lost contact with our scouting group in the Abregado system. They were looking for the end result for whatever ‘Project Long Arm’ was aiming to produce.” She paused for a few moments in deep thought. “I can send Ahsoka Tano with you for support,” Mothma offered before shutting off the hologram. “You are also encouraged to take whatever forces you can source separate from the alliance on this mission.”

“Fine,” Sabine decided. “We’ll find the fleet and come back with our report.” She turned and walked away with Ezra following close behind. “We can call up Rau and a squadron of fighters from Lothal,” Sabine told her husband.

“Can we call Hondo? I haven’t seen him in a while,” Ezra pleaded in response. “There’s no way he can screw us over this time.”

Sabine groaned inwardly. “Sure,” she decided. “I hope I don’t regret this.”

Ahsoka was waiting by their ship when they got there. “I got the message from senator Mothma.” She walked up the ramp without waiting for them. When Ezra and Sabine boarded, Ahsoka was already in the cockpit going through the pre-launch checklist and sequences. “Sabine, you’re my co-pilot,” the togruta said confidently. 

Sabine arched an eyebrow and turned expectantly to Ezra. “Um, Ahsoka,” she said hesitantly when he didn’t. She turned around in the chair to face him. “Maybe we could let Ezra fly his own ship.”

Ahsoka looked at Ezra with skepticism. “He’s not really that good of a pilot… I mean, yeah, Hera trained him and everything, and he could probably outfly the average TIE pilot, but I was trained by the best pilot in the galaxy and I refuse to die sitting at a sensor array,” she argued. 

Ezra looked down and away from her. “I’ll get on the rear cannons,” he told them dejectedly before walking off to the back of the ship. 

Sabine frowned as she watched him go and turned to look at Ahsoka. “Was that really necessary?” she whispered sharply. Ahsoka made a confused sounding hum as she continued through the necessary start-up procedures. “There was no reason to say any of that.”

“He’ll get over it.”

“That’s not the point,” Sabine grumbled. “I’m tired of people belittling him all the time.” She turned in her chair to face her station. “You’re apologizing as soon as we get back,” Sabine commanded. 

Sabine stood and walked out of the cockpit and back to Ezra as he sat in the rear gunner’s station. He seemed completely unphased by Ahsoka’s words at this point, so Sabine decided to drop the issue. Instead, she moved to power up their new droid so it could help in case they needed a quick getaway. She felt the ship drop from hyperspace. “We must’ve arrived at the rendezvous,” Sabine deduced. “I’ll make sure everything’s all set.” 

Sabine watched his scanner for a second and noted their escort of TIE Defenders taking their place in front while a fang fighter moved to dock with the rear hatch of their ship. She walked to the rear of the ship and greeted Rau as he entered the airlock. “It feels good to stretch my legs again. I’ve been in that cockpit for hours.”

“Glad you could come,” Ezra replied honestly. “We’re searching the last known location of Admiral Ackbar’s fleet to see what happened.”

“I’m sure its nothing but a simple comms malfunction,” he reassured. He flopped down in the couch heavily. “But still, I’m glad to get away from Bo when she gets all stressed out.” After a few more minutes of idling in space, Rau looked over at Sabine and Ezra. “Why aren’t we moving?” he asked them.

“We’re still waiting for Hondo,” Ezra answered casually. As if on cue, a single _Lambda_ -class shuttle with a non-imperial transponder dropped from hyperspace.

“Hello hello,” the old pirate’s cheery voice crackled through the comms on the ship. “I assume you were waiting for your old pal, Hondo!” they heard him sniffle through the comm during his brief pause. “Are we proceeding on this most profitable endeavor?... at least I assume it is profitable.”

“Not exactly…” Sabine mumbled. “We’re looking for a missing fleet, but I’m sure we could find you something afterwards.” 

Hondo’s cheery demeanor fell at the lack of profit incentive. “Well then we should probably get this over with.” Ezra and Sabine heard a beeping from Hondo’s console. “Ah! Coordinates received; I’ll see you there.” Hondo’s audio abruptly cut off and left Sabine and Ezra in an otherwise quiet ship with Rau still in the back. The journey through hyperspace was a few hours, but eventually, Abregado was only a few minutes away. Rau went back to his fighter which was still docked while Ezra glued his eyes back on his station; leaving Sabine to head back up to the cockpit to join Ahsoka. When they dropped out of hyperspace, Rau’s fighter dropped from the bottom as he began to run point for the scouting party.

In the cockpit, Ahsoka took a sharp breath in as a debris field obscuring a large ice-locked planet came into view. They activated the searchlights and Sabine noticed the Republic insignia on some of the largest debris pieces, and in the wreckage, she could pick out the bodies of clones floating through space still in their white phase-I armor. One of the pieces moved out of their way to reveal a half-destroyed bridge from what Sabine knew was an old clone wars Venator Star Destroyer.

“You know this place,” Sabine surmised as she saw the sorrowful look on the older woman’s face.

“Yes… In the beginning of the war, there was a separatist ship called the _Malevolence_. It was in the Abregado System when we found the first group that had survived the attack.” She paused for a second and took in a shaky breath before continuing. “That was master Plo Koon and a few of his clones, including Wolffe. I just have a bad feeling being back here and chasing after the same idea of a secret weapon,” she reminisced sadly as her eyes bored through the wreckage in a thousand-yard-stare. She blinked a few times and refocused on the wreckage closest to them as she steered the ship.

Something felt off to Sabine. It only took them a moment to realize that they were drifting through what remained of _Home One’s_ escort fleet. The uniformed rebel troopers and crewmen drifted through space aimlessly and lifelessly.

“By the Manda,” Sabine muttered as she saw the obliterated ships. For her, this battle was much more real and now she could begin to imagine what Ahsoka had felt upon seeing the Republic debris. Lights in some of the larger pieces flickered as the damaged systems used the last of their emergency power. Scanning the field, not a single lifeform was found. The entire fleet was really destroyed.

“Proximity Warning!” Rau shouted through the comms as he jerked his ship to the side. 

Sabine looked up in time to see a massive ship begin to eclipse Abregado. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Ahsoka said under her breath. “Not again with the cruiser crushers.”

“Close up formation and keep your hyperdrives warm,” She started. “we need to see what we’re dealing with and high tail it out of here.”

They took the lead while Rau fell slightly behind them and to their right, with the two Defenders doing the same on the left. They streaked through the abyss towards the largest ship any of them had ever seen. And they had seen the _Executor_ in person.

“That thing will tear us apart!” One of the pilots shouted through the communicators as they flew in formation.

“Steady… We just need to get a few holos of it, then we’re out of here,” Sabine replied curtly. She exhaled sharply as they closed in, despite her words and confident tone, she was afraid they wouldn’t survive a ship that seemed to have wiped out an entire fleet. She watched on the scanners as Hondo’s ship turned around and disappeared into hyperspace. Sabine rolled her eyes at the pirate’s cowardice and activated the imager and readied herself at the controls for the weapons systems. She began to wildly flip switches and press buttons as she diverted power from the secondary powerplant. They got closer and they could see the absolutely massive, capitol ship destroying guns on the surface turn towards them in sequence. She felt her stomach drop when the batteries seemed to be trained on their ship specifically. “Ahsoka…”

The Togruta didn’t respond as she splayed her fingers and gripped the yoke again. 

“Ahsoka…” Sabine called more urgently.

Ahsoka smirked and leaned forward as they got closer to the ship. She made no deviation from her course and Sabine watched as the massive batteries started to track their vector. She tensed, preparing for the coming fire.

“Ahsoka! The guns!” she yelled as they all began to fire at once. 

She veered hard to the left as the shields took a hit, knocking them down to fifty percent with a single shot. 

“Osik! Everyone else pull back!” Sabine shouted through the comms. 

The other ships broke off their approach and began to calculate their jumps. Seconds later the Defenders were gone, leaving Rau with them again. 

Sabine watched the plasma intently. Much to her curiosity, they weren’t the typical green that the Empire used on their ships; instead, they were a wild assortment of colors along the entire spectrum. They ran scans of the ship as they passed it, gathering the dimensions, weapons, and shield data. When they completed it, they took another hit, dropping the shields completely and rocking the ship. Rau docked as quickly as he could and Ahsoka made a blind jump into hyperspace. 

She dropped out seconds later and made a calculated jump to Ziost. 

After they were in hyperspace once again, Ezra walked to the cockpit. “What was that?” Ezra demanded.

“It was a ship,” Sabine replied flatly, indicating she had no ideas, so it was pointless to even ask. 

“Ahsoka, you heard the crystals too, right?”

“I did,” she confirmed sadly as swiveled in her chair and nodded slightly. “It would explain the Kyber shipments.”

Ezra slumped down in the chair and buried his face in his hands. “And the cold?”

“Yes… I believe it was Vader. Luke couldn’t be that bad. Not yet anyways.”

Sabine butted in to get past the Force mumbo-jumbo. “We need to get this data back to alliance command.”

Ezra sighed and flopped down into a seat. “How are we ever going to win?” Sabine watched him run his hands through his hair in desperation. “We can barely afford starfighters and the Empire can make hundreds of those behemoths.”

Sabine frowned at him, truthfully, he had a point. There was no way to meet the Empire in a truly open war. If they wanted to match the Imperials, then they would need to start something that could actually be feasible. Even after everything she’d done, Sabine just knew that if the Executor came to Lothal, then the surface cannons wouldn’t be able to defend the planet from a full invasion. They could never hope to meet the Empire in a battle which they designed their fleets for. To be successful, the alliance would need to continue their current hit and run strategy relying on their starfighter corps. Until they could severely hamper the Empire’s production, any major engagements would be an obvious defeat for the rebels. “Then we’ll just need a way to even it out a little,” Ahsoka said. 

Ezra looked at her and frowned. “How could we possibly manage that?” he demanded. 

“The Empire has assets that we don’t, but at least we know what they are. Most of our assets are one’s the Imperials will never see coming.”

“Like what, Ahsoka?” Sabine asked tiredly with a scoff. “The one’s we’re losing faster than we can replace?” 

“More like a hyperspace route that only we know because your husband decided to disappear with Thrawn. And entire resource rich planet at the end of it.” Ahsoka paused for a moment as a realization came over her. “Imagine what you two could do with that planet. The Empire has no idea where it is, and I may know someone who could help you with facilities to set up there.”

“Your friend can help us build entire factories?” Sabine inquired.

“He’s been sitting on some information for a while. As of right now, he’s unsure of the alliance’s end goal and looking for some people who’s own goals line up with his.” Ahsoka looked at the communicator hesitantly for a few moments before turning back to look at Ezra and Sabine. “Make yourselves scarce and I’ll call him.” 

Sabine, Ezra, and Rau decided not to argue, and all walked back into the rear section of the ship. “Are you considering her offer?” Rau asked them in the common area. 

“It’s a good option. Not just for the rebellion, but for Lothal’s economy too,” Sabine told the older man. “Right now, all we’ve got is agriculture and a few mines scattered around the planet. It’s too risky to open anything larger with the planet’s eco system still in such a fragile state.”

“I never thought I’d see it this healthy,” Ezra explained. “As far back as I can remember the Empire was destroying it for whatever they could get from it.” 

Sabine glanced at him sympathetically. From what Bo-Katan had been telling her, the Empire found new veins of beskar after they conquered Mandalore and began to strip mine the entire planet to find more. It was a fruitless endeavor because there wasn’t a single Mandalorian metalsmith willing to refine the beskar in the traditional ways, leaving it as little more than a metal barely stronger than the average durasteel. “We won’t turn it into Duro, Ezra. Don’t worry,” Sabine reassured. 

Rau stepped in, “I’m sure Bo could use any industrial support you’re able to provide.”

“That’s part of our deal, Rau,” Sabine replied. “Come on, Ezra. We should report our status to Lothal.”


	32. Chapter 32

**Day 238, 3 ABY**

It was a total of three days since they had left Lothal and subsequently got sent on one final mission, and now Ezra and Sabine were streaking through hyperspace with a disturbing holo recording of the Empire’s newest superweapon. They had instantly informed Ryder as well as Alrich and Tristan about what they found, and Azadi agreed to divert even more of their manufacturing capabilities to heavy weaponry in the slim hope they could fight off an invasion from whatever they had just faced. Now, they were dropping out of hyperspace at the rebellion’s newest headquarters at Ziost, only to see _Home One_ in front of them with fires dotting the hull and suppression crews rushing up from the surface to save the ship. Tugs were soon deployed as they coasted past the ship to deliver their report. Everyone could easily see the missing hull plating, destroyed systems, and the sections that had to be sealed off to save whatever crew was nearby. Sabine whispered an old prayer in Mando’a for those who were in the destroyed sections when they were hit and kept her eyes scanning over the hull. Much like they initially suspected, there were none of the flagship’s escorts trailing it or docked on one of its many ports. Ezra noticed that not even the hanger shields were operating before sighing. “Look what they did to it.” That was probably the only ship in the fleet that could go toe-to-toe with a destroyer, and here it was in a near unsalvageable state. 

When they landed, Mon Mothma was waiting with Hera and a few other officers at the landing pad. “Ackbar’s comms were destroyed in battle, and crews have not been sent down yet. We were hoping you could shed some light on what has happened,” Mothma said, skipping formalities and pleasantries in favor of getting the answers they desperately needed. 

“Of course,” Ahsoka answered. “If you’ll follow me…” the Togruta walked toward the citadel with everyone else following on her heels. She began her explanation on the way after sensing the anxiety coming off those gathered. “It was a new dreadnought, larger than an _Executor_ -class by our initial examinations. They used Kyber crystals in the construction of their weaponry, and most likely, their power generation.” Ahsoka told them. Her and Ezra exchanged glances with both of them sensing Ahsoka’s explanation did little to reassure them. In fact, it had the opposite effect if the Jedi were reading their emotions correctly. “We gathered as much scanning data as we could, so I am optimistic we can find something.”

“Hey, at least its not another Death Star,” Ezra quickly followed up, but he too noticed their was little in his words to improve their mood.

They finally made it to a briefing room and gathered around the holoprojector. Sabine plugged in a datacard and the image shimmered to life. They ran a quick scan over the projection. The computer came back with detailed information of the ship. They found the length to be twenty-five kilometers with two-thousand-and-five-hundred light turbolaser cannons, one-thousand medium turbolaser cannons, and another two-thousand-and-five-hundred heavy turbolaser cannons. The cannons were grouped into batteries with eight barrels each, placed along the sloped hull for a maximized firing arc. There were missile tubes lining the hull, three hundred to be exact. Three hundred heavy ion cannons lined the armor plating with five-hundred-point defense guns to complement them and fend off starfighters. “The first thing I’m noticing is the lack of any extra point defense cannons,” Sabine thought aloud. “Like they haven’t learned from their mistakes yet.” 

“Like that will even make a difference at that scale,” one of the technicians said incredulously. “We’ll never be able to penetrate that armor.” 

“Everything makes a difference,” an admiral retorted. Ezra turned to look at him; he was a middle-aged man Ezra had seen at briefings before, but he usually stayed silent toward the back of the room. “The defense cannons are more spread out than ever before,” he pointed out. “We got ships that can make it through there and grind the bridge down to powder.”

“We have fighters that could destroy the superstructure, yes. But from what we observed, the ‘bridge’ has been reduced from a command center to a sensor array,” Ahsoka informed the man. “They command from the interior with information relayed from sensors spread across the hull.”

“Would you mind playing the footage from the encounter?” he asked. Sabine complied, pressing a few keys before their own ship flew into view. The cannons trained on them just like they did in the battle before firing. The shot impacted their shields before the footage showed them breaking off their attack. “Well, we can take out their sensors… Leave the command crew blind. But watch those batteries when they fire.” The turbolaser and point defense batteries unleashed their salvos, but with a notable difference from the traditional firing patterns. “You said there were Kyber crystals in those guns?” he continued while turning to look at Ahsoka and Ezra. The two Force users nodded at him and he looked back at the holo. “From my time in the Clone War, I remember hearing those crystals amplified energy, but were also unstable when they were big.”

“That’s correct, Admiral,” Ahsoka assured him when he looked at her.

“They can’t risk overpowering the crystals without disabling their guns,” he pointed out. “If we can take out whatever power system they use, then we should be able to keep ‘em from regulating their cannons.” 

“Easier said than done,” Sabine replied. “That’s no ISD. We don’t have any detailed schematics to base an attack off of.” 

“We know that they like to follow the same basic design elements in all their ships,” he retorted with a grin growing on his face. “Much like the Republic did. Now, they favor cycling their coolant throughout the ship and back to the main reactor. The lines just so happen to be exposed toward the front of the bulge located on the bottom.”

“And you think we can destroy this monster with something so simple?” someone from the back section of the room asked incredulously. 

“It’s a start,” the Admiral defended. “We’ll build on the plan, that’s why we hold these briefings.” He turned to face Mon Mothma who had been silent the entire time. “My recommendation… and I’m sure Admiral Ackbar will agree… is to limit our movement as much as possible and keep our exposure to a minimum. We need to wait for the heat to die down, and while we’re waiting, we can rebuild bigger than before.”

The former senator frowned at him. “We’ve already discussed this. I’ve told you my opinion on the matter.” 

“I’m asking you to reconsider,” he said calmly. “When we talked about it before, we had no idea what we were up against. And since the Mon Cals can’t exactly make any new ships for us…” he trailed off as he looked at her.

“My decision stands, I will not allow this alliance to become the organization you seem so adamant to turn it into.” She stared intently at him for a few more seconds. “If there’s no other matters pertaining to the commanders’ discovery, then this meeting is adjourned,” she said aloud. People began to file from the room in a more or less orderly fashion, but the Admiral stayed behind with his gaze fixed on the senator, even as she turned away from him and left the room. 

As soon as she was gone, taking Hera and Ahsoka with her, the Admiral turned to face Ezra and Sabine. “I’d appreciate it if you two could hang back a moment.” He turned to the last few malingerers with a pointed glare that seemed to convince them they had other duties to attend to. “You were the first reconnaissance ship to actually return without damage,” the man informed them. 

“I assumed we were the first reconnaissance ship to be dispatched,” Sabine replied with an arched eyebrow. “Besides _Home One_ , of course.”

“Well, get used to Mothma not telling you everything…” He frowned as he mentioned her. “She’s a politician just like any other. You only know what she wants you to, manipulates and connives to get her way, I’m sure you know the type,” he finished nonchalantly while rapping his knuckles against the projector. Ezra could feel the man’s frustration through the Force as he stood there.

“I’m sure you didn’t ask us to stay so you could complain about the senator,” Sabine commented while narrowing her eyes at him. “Who are you? What do you want from us?”

“My name is Graysen, and well, two temperamental young adults separated far from high command politics with their own planet present an opportunity,” he informed them. “There’s something we’re gonna need to win this war,” Graysen continued before pulling a datacard from his pocket and plugging it into the projector. A ship materialized over the table. It was a large vessel, with the front having a distinctive shape which was slightly reminiscent of the hammerhead corvettes that the alliance utilized within its fleets. The difference though, was size. Ezra looked down at the specifications panel, noting the length to be two-thousand-four-hundred meters long. “As of this moment, the esteemed senator sees this as a political victory for the Empire, and an expense the alliance can’t afford. I’ve offered her alternatives, but she’s hunkered down on her answer.”

“Where do we fit into all of this?” Ezra inquired while scanning over the hull. 

“I can get you the designs, as well as the means to produce these ships. All I need you two to do is find a way to safely produce them. I figured there are a few places you could do that; Lothal is an easy one, but I couldn’t blame you if you said no, this would attract more attention than your defenses could handle. The second option would be the planet you were marooned on in the unknown regions.”

Ezra and Sabine turned to face each other. After a brief but silent conversation, Sabine turned back to him. “Let’s say we choose the planet out there… what then?” 

“Then I have you and a few of those Imperial ships you captured haul some manufacturing equipment out there and set up your own little dockyard. All the preparations have been made; I’m just waiting on your agreement.”

“You had this planned?” Ezra inquired.

“I told you, Mothma said ‘no’ so I had to look into the alternatives. You happened to be my top choice.” 

“Fine,” Sabine replied with her expression schooled to neutral. “We’ll build these ships if we can. But with our limited resources, it will take a long time to actually finish one.”

“It’ll all be automated, little countess. Don’t you fret.”

Ezra felt the indignation and frustration rise in Sabine at his remark, but he rested a hand on his wife’s shoulder before she had the opportunity to say anything to the man. “Meet us at our ship in half an hour, we’ll bring you to Lothal and we can get started on whatever you have planned.” 

He nodded and removed the datacard before handing it to Sabine and leaving the room. She quickly walked over and erased every trace of their conversation from the terminal before indicating she was ready to go. Ezra gave her a curious look, cocking one of his eyebrows at the unusual move, but shrugged it off as Sabine just being Sabine. She jammed the data card in her back pocket and wordlessly led Ezra out of the briefing room and towards the hangar. 

“We might want to tell Hera,” Ezra warned apprehensively as they got close to the main hangar.

Sabine turned around and opened her mouth to reply, but she saw the green Twi’lek leaning against a door frame that they had just walked past with a suspicious look. “Tell Hera, what?” she demanded as she pushed herself off the wall and started to walk towards them.

They wouldn’t lie to Hera… They couldn’t lie to Hera even if they wanted to, the woman just knew all their tells and saw right through them every time. “We’re trying to build capital ships,” Ezra blurted out. Sabine’s head snapped to face him, and she threw her hands in the air and scoffed at him but didn’t say anything.

“Where did _you_ find capital ships?” there was a pause as Ezra hesitated to tell her, after all, she was a member of Mon Mothma’s inner circle and might tell the former senator. “Oh, they’re from Graysen, aren’t they?” she asked as she began to rub at the bridge of her nose frustratedly. 

Ezra thought before actually giving a reply. “So, what if they are?” he asked as he let a tone of cockiness leak into his voice. 

“Ezra, just _shut up_ ,” Sabine ordered from his side. Turning to face Hera, she tried to explain her way out of the mess Ezra had just put them in. “We’re looking into a few options for ships.”

“Ships like the _Starhawk_?”

Ezra heard Sabine swear under her breath, and Hera did too apparently because she deliberated for a few seconds before speaking again. “Look… Graysen’s not the only one who thinks we need ships like those. It’s just that Mothma would never approve of the rebellion getting them.”

“Well maybe we won’t go through the rebellion,” Ezra said without thinking. 

“Ezra, don’t,” Sabine hissed. 

“No, Ezra, please do,” Hera said curiously as she took a few more steps towards them and pulled them into a side room, making sure nobody was nearby before she sealed the door.

“Well… I was just thinking,” he started as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “We could get the parts through Lothal and build them somewhere else.”

Hera seemed to be slightly surprised by the idea, leaning back as she rested against a crate and considered the merit. “How would this work?” she finally asked.

“Well, we already have a bunch of Imperial ships that we took, but that’s mainly light cruisers and cargo ships. But those have all been practice, right now, everyone in Lothal’s defense forces knows how to board and take a ship, all we need to do is think bigger,” Ezra said to the shock of Sabine and Hera. He looked around at both as they stared at him. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said defensively. “All we need to do is take the bridge. I have an idea for the rest of the ship, buuuuuut you guys probably won’t like it,” he explained. 

“We’re listening…” Sabine said as she continued to stare at him.

“Well… We sneak onto the bridge and take it; then we put an executive lockdown in place and seal every door throughout the ship. They can’t be disabled by the controls outside the bridge, and we can divert any power away from the weapons and shields. Then we basically bring forty-thousand prisoners directly to other ships, transfer them, and drop them off with rebel cells throughout the galaxy who know how to keep something quiet.”

“That’s… ambitious,” Sabine replied, breaking the silence following his plan.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” he asked as he shrugged and leaned back against a shelf.

“We could all die…”

“Besides that.”

“I’m sure we can find something else wrong with your halfcocked scheme, Ezra… You have to remember, our guys aren’t professional soldiers, my clan might be able to pull it off, but I’m not sure the farm boys can.”

“Well, we do know a _very_ successful pirate from the clone war,” he replied with a mischievous grin. 

Hera sighed audibly. “I’m sure that Graysen has some guys that he could get to help… I mean, you don’t get to his position without making a few friends.”

“Does this mean that you’re approving this?” Sabine asked, seeming surprised that Hera wasn’t ripping their plans apart. 

“Officially, no… but we will need those ships to win, especially against whatever they cooked up with ‘long arm.’ And I think the _Starhawk_ is our best bet.”

“We’ll get our crew together,” Ezra said quickly as he began to walk out of the room.

“I don’t want to hear anything about this… talk to Graysen though, but keep it in a closed circle.”

Ezra and Sabine bounded from the room and started toward the hangar at a brisk pace, passing the rebel troopers and station crew as they thought further into their new scheme. They were surprised when they got into the large hangar and saw the admiral waiting for them at the base of the _Revenant’s_ ramp. He was tapping his foot against the deck and had an impatient look on his face, but through the Force, Ezra could feel his amusement. The man looked down at his wrist chrono “Took longer than I thought,” he said with a smirk. 

“Yeah, we got stopped by Her- General Syndulla,” Ezra replied, quickly correcting his slip up. 

“Hera’s a hell of a pilot, ain’t she?” He asked rhetorically. “If you guys need some muscle to help you out, I got some special forces boys trained by your old pal Rex that are as eager to fight as he is… crazy ol’ bastard,” he finished, chuckling at his own description of Rex.

“Send them to Lothal then. We’re getting some of our own allies ready for this…”

“Ohnaka?” he asked with another chuckle. “Back when I had a real fleet in the clone war, I had to go and kick the poodoo out of ‘im and his guys more than once… Granted, capital ships weren’t his thing, but he would do good on somethin’ like this.”

“Alright, well, I’ll let you know soon,” Ezra said as he started up the ramp.

“Actually, I’d like to join you… If it’s okay with you,” Graysen replied.

“Fine,” Sabine said before turning and walking up the ramp.

 _”Well, there go my plans…”_ Ezra thought as gestured for Graysen to go up the ramp first, and followed him closely. 

Ezra and Graysen made it to the top of the ramp and the older man paused in the doorway, taking stock of the ship he is trusting his life with. He ran his hands over the outer hull as he looked at the art adorning the inner walls of the ship. “I always wanted to fly one of these things,” he said absently as he scanned the small living area. “Bigger than I thought.”

“Well, if you want to, you’ll have to wait until we’re at Lothal… We don’t need Mon Mothma ruining the whole plan because we let you get excited behind the controls.”

Graysen nodded with regal sarcasm and continued into the ship. Ezra walked past him as he moved to the cockpit and began the takeoff sequence with Sabine as she sat in the co-pilot’s seat. “Well that certainly throws my plans out the airlock,” she said to Ezra quietly.

“I know exactly how you feel,” he replied with a wink. 

The Mandalorian fighter was granted clearance to take off and as soon as they were far enough from the station, Sabine turned to face him. “Go entertain Graysen, I’ll get us into hyperspace.”

Knowing that she wanted to vent some of her frustrations on the various controls in the cockpit, Ezra complied and walked back to the main area, finding Graysen standing exactly where he left him. “Uh, you can sit if you want to,” Ezra offered as he walked towards one of the chairs at the small dining table and pulled the other one out with the Force. 

“Thanks,” he said as he sat down. “On my home planet, we value courtesy and manners more than anything… I seem to keep forgetting that most people don’t see it as rude when you sit down without permission,” Graysen explained with a chuckle. 

“Make yourself comfortable,” Ezra replied nonchalantly. “It’s more than a day’s trip to get to Lothal.”

“I’d like to apologize for any… plans that my presence may have ruined,”

Ezra felt his face flush red “Don’t worry about it,” he said quickly before breaking eye contact and looking down at the table in embarrassment. The older man chuckled a little bit and slumped down in the seat before speaking again.

“I know what it’s like. I used to be married, and, well, the Empire ruined that for me…” Graysen explained sadly, adopting a distant look as he reminisced on better times.

“What happened?” Ezra said suddenly without thinking about it. “if you’re comfortable talking about it.”

“She was on Alderaan when they…” he trailed off and waved his hand in the air randomly, but Ezra knew what he was talking about. 

After a few seconds of quiet consideration, Ezra looked up at the admiral who met his gaze. “I felt it,” he said quietly as he locked eyes with the older man. “I felt everything on Jedha, Scarif, and Alderaan. Every bit of fear, pain, death, and then nothing.”

Graysen inhaled deeply and drummed his fingers on the table as he thought. “I can’t imagine how that woulda felt. When I fought in the clone war, I envied the Jedi, wished I had the same powers, but thinkin’ about feelin’ billions die at the same time… I’m glad I’m like everyone else.”

“You fought with the Jedi?” Ezra asked, his mood picking up slightly.

Graysen nervously chuckled and looked to the side. “Well… I think it would be more accurate to say that I fought the Jedi” he said nervously. “It was a war between two principles, and my people chose the separatists. I fought like hell to keep the Outer Rim free of Republic tyranny, to keep my people out from under their taxes. I found out too late that the leadership I fought for cared more about profits than people.”

“So, you were an idealist?” Ezra inquired while trying his best to keep an open mind. 

“Somethin’ like that, kid. I was just tired of all the abuse.” He frowned for a moment. “There was an old CIS propaganda poster, it said ‘There are two thousand senators inside this building. None of them care about you.’ That’s what got me to sign on,” he elaborated quietly. “We’d been crushed by the senate’s taxes for years before the war broke out. My planet went from one of the poorest in the galaxy, to one of the Confederacy’s best recruiting centers. We prospered under their government, and we were actually represented in their senate.” Graysen leaned back in his chair and relaxed. “I was in our planetary defense force before we seceded, so I got transferred into the Confederate navy as soon as we joined. From there it was all one giant blur… hopping from one system to the next to beat back the clones and unknowingly take a part in Dooku’s political schemes.”

“When did you realize it was a sham?” Ezra probed.

“It wasn’t,” Graysen answered with a shrug. “A lot of the planets actually agreed with the message. Now, it took me a few years after the war ended to realize we were all just pawns in the corporations’ bids for power. And...” He paused for a moment in reflection. “Maybe ‘sham’ is an accurate description,” he mused quietly. “But I moved to Alderaan to avoid prosecution. I hadn’t committed a war crime, so Bail Organa let me stay there with immunity.” 

Ezra sunk back into his own seat. “I’m sorry all that happened to you.”

* * *

_One week later_

A report flashed on Thrawn’s terminal. One of his spies in the rebellion reported movement from Ezra, Sabine, and an admiral whose service record extended back to some of the Republic’s heaviest losses. The trio had gathered an unknown cargo from an abandoned former Separatist planet in the mid rim and quickly departed for the unknown regions. Thrawn had briefly toyed with the idea of their location and activities being the subject of an ‘anonymous tip’ being sent to the Empire but held back on the account of his own curiosity. As they began to set everything up, he noticed it was a mobile shipyard of sorts being set up in the orbit of the planet Ezra had stranded him near almost four years prior. The shipyard itself was rather small and unimpressive, by his estimation and own knowledge of construction, he figured it would take some time before whatever workers he could scrounge up were able to complete a ship large enough to garner any attention. But the ring of _Gozanti_ cruisers and three _Arquitens_ cruisers guarding the area were of mild concern to the admiral. He rose from his desk, strapped his sidearm to his waist and left his office to talk to Ursa Wren regarding the latest development. 

He found her in the sparring ring with a Chiss soldier unconscious at her feet, her chest heaving slightly more than normal while her eyes stayed on her opponent. He turned to one of the guards standing at attention in a corner. 

[ He requested a sparring match, ] the guard clarified. [ The prisoner did not violate her terms. ]

[ Understood, ] Thrawn said before turning to face the _former_ countess. [ You may leave us. ] The guards obeyed without question. Three of them immediately leaving while the final one moved to help the now-stirring soldier from the floor. “I trust you’ve thoroughly entertained yourself,” he addressed Ursa after the room was empty except for him and her. 

“Wish I had a real challenge,” she replied casually. “Your men aren’t exactly Mando’ade level fighters.” Thrawn had spent enough time around humans to know when they were layering their emotions or hiding their true intent, and he knew exactly what she was trying to do with her behavior. 

“He is not representative of your other guards, Ursa, and I warn you not to try that theory in some sort of pitiful escape attempt.” The slight frown that briefly pulled down the corners of her mouth indicated that his intuition was correct. He allowed himself to pause for a minute and weigh his best options for how to proceed. He eventually decided on bringing the resentment and spite hiding just beneath her mask of impassiveness to the surface. “Whether or not you agree with it, you will be staying her as long as it benefits myself and my people. What freedoms and rights you may receive depend on your acceptance and willingness to agree to my proposition.” As usual, the Mandalorian’s face was nearly unreadable as she glared back at him. There was an undercurrent of fury in her eyes, but that was something that Ursa always had going on.

“I’m not helping you train your soldiers. Especially when you won’t guarantee they will not be turned against the Mando’ade.” She had a point there. Thrawn was well aware of the fierce loyalty the Mandalorians possessed. Even though they were some of the most contentious people around, when an outsider threatened someone that they considered to be a fellow member of their creed, even the most bitter of rivals would come together to push back the outsider. Clan Wren’s allegiance to the Death Watch was a very satisfactory example of such behavioral patterns. Before Maul’s take over, before the clone army was even created, the Wren’s followed a faction opposed to Death Watch’s radical ideals, but when Maul made his move to dispose of Vizsla and the faction tore itself into three distinct pieces, the Wrens gave their allegiance to Bo-Katan to oust the Zabrak from the Mandalorian throne. 

“You’re much more enigmatic than your daughter, although Sabine wears her emotion proudly on her armor so that isn’t saying much.” A slight pause was not hesitation by any measure, it was a way to give himself time to further stoke the woman’s emotions. “I remember during the time the boy was missing, Sabine recolored her armor,” he mused while trying to gauge her reaction. Thrawn knew Ezra was a subject Ursa was not too fond of but had come to accept despite the way she looked like she ate something sour whenever he was brought up. He saw the countess’ mouth twitch down into a slight frown again while her brows knit tight on her forehead. “It was such a departure from her typical bright colors, so I felt it pertinent to look into it. In your culture color is significant on one’s beskar, is it not?” The question was rhetorical, so he just continued. “Sabine had painted her armor predominantly in a dark and depressing gray, which is symbolic of mourning a loved one now lost to you.” He looked at the woman intently with the slightest hint of a smile tugging on the corners of his mouth. “And to a much smaller degree, a deep shade of red, representative of honoring one’s parents. I found it amusing that she put that second to her attachment to Bridger.” 

He watched Ursa’s fists ball from his periphery. “Enough,” she spoke uncharacteristically low at him. “Sabine is an artist; it was a design choice she found appealing, nothing more.” It was certainly possible, but with the way the duo was always together, and fought ferociously to keep one another safe from harm told Thrawn otherwise.

“You have a choice, Ursa,” Thrawn said suddenly. “If you cooperate now, I will be more inclined to return you to your people after you have served your purpose. If you continue the streak of petty denial and defiance, the Empire will pay handsomely for you and the woman you came here with.” She tensed at the threat, knowing it wasn’t an idle one. “Right now, I want to know if expansionary tendencies are valued in your culture.” Thrawn turned away from her. “Your daughter’s safety survival depends on your answer.”

“Only in space that matters. The unknown regions do not look like a place we would want to be,” she assured. “Why?” He watched her eyes scan over him, using all of her political experience to gauge Thrawn’s reaction to her probing. However, she quickly found the man to have less expression than the ice locked planet she was imprisoned on.

The countess was too smart to simply lie to, Thrawn knew he needed to tell her the truth, but in a way that he could later manipulate to his benefit. “Sabine is amassing production facilities on a world at the border of Chiss space. If her intentions are hostile against the Empire, then we are willing to allow them to persist in order to keep ourselves concealed as well as discover the true strength of whatever little faction they’re inadvertently creating. If they are against us, we will be forced to wipe them out to keep my people safe.” 

“Ezra is too much of an influence over her. He despises any sort of invasion or imperialism,” Ursa replied. The way the boy fought to not only free his own planet, but every single oppressed system in the galaxy was admirable, and she knew quite readily that the Jedi may be hypocrites, but not even they were blatant enough to start a war for what little could be found in the unknown regions of space.

“Understood. Then the Expansionary Defense Force has no reason to react,” he promised the countess. Thranw turned and started to leave before he heard a small chuckle from the woman and turned to her. “I’m sorry, did I say something you find humorous?” 

“Yes, ‘Expansionary Defense.’ What an amusing little contradiction.” 

Thrawn turned and walked out of the room without another word to Ursa. Now he was curious of how Sabine and Ezra would put their resources to use. The pair, despite their age and inexperience, had always proved to be more than worthy adversaries, and if the circumstances were different, he was sure they would be worthy allies instead. _“Maybe they can still be of use to us,”_ he considered silently as he continued down the hall toward his command center.


	33. Chapter 33

**Day 242, 3 ABY**

Ezra couldn’t shake the feeling they were being watched. He knew the possibility of that was slim to none considering how deep in the unknown regions he was, but he still felt a pair of eyes resting distinctly on him. He shook it off as nothing but an animal in the forest and continued his rediscovery of his small home from when he was stranded. Sabine had followed him inside to look around. “You spent three years here?” she asked him softly.

“Well, some of it was spent in a ship over there,” he replied while gesturing vaguely at the lake behind them. “I suppose I landed here in the dry season.”

“You did a good job building this,” she told him. She rapped her knuckles against one of the supports to emphasize her point. By now, the orbital shipyard had been set up by the droids that would man the assembly lines. “Graysen just said that they were starting to build the frame.” They had spent the last week setting everything up and moving raw materials to begin construction of their first ship.

Ezra’s communicator chimed on his wrist. He answered it, only to hear the admiral’s voice come through. “Hey, we’re gonna need those destroyers sooner than you think,” he informed them. “Get Hondo ready to go.”

Sabine groaned at the thought of working with the pirate once again. “Alright,” Ezra replied. Sabine could just make out an undercurrent of excitedness in Ezra’s voice and she playfully rolled her eyes at him, much to his displeasure.

Once they were onboard their ship, Ezra keyed in Hondo’s frequency on the ship’s communicator. “Hello, my friends!” the old pirate greeted jovially. “What can your old pal Hondo help you with?” Sabine stared blankly at him for a second before simply turning and muttering something about ship maintenance. Ezra watched her retreating form for a few seconds, but quickly refocused his attention on the projection of Hondo. 

“Hondo,” Ezra said with a chuckle. “Its good to finally see you again.”

“Likewise, my young friend.” Hondo leaned into the projection and adopted a voice hardly above a conspiring whisper. “I take it this call will turn out profitable for us…” 

“Maybe,” Ezra answered truthfully. “It’s certainly ambitious.”

“The usual rendezvous then?” 

“I’ll see you there in a few days, Hondo.” 

Sabine walked back into the cockpit. “Gods I can’t stand that sleemo,” she muttered as she went over the flight controls for the ship. A few more switches were flipped, and the engines fired up. “One day he’s going to do something,” she warned.

“What’s Hondo gonna do? He’s my friend,” Ezra argued. He went through his half of the start-up sequence without waiting for Sabine to tell him to. “He won’t sell us out to the Empire.”

“Ezra,” she started softly. “Its just his type… he’ll sell anyone out if it gets him richer. I don’t want you to figure that out too late.” This was one of the times where Sabine’s softer side came into play. Ezra knew that when she got like this, it was best to consider whatever she had to say. “Promise me you’ll keep your guard up.”

Ezra smiled weakly at her. “I will, Sabine. Don’t worry,” he comforted. The ship shuddered slightly as it lifted off and carried them into space. As they passed by the dockyard, they looked out at the old Separatist droids working on the frame of the _Starhawk_. “Looks good, doesn’t it?” Ezra inquired. The skeleton of the ship looked nearly complete with a few sparks still signifying where the assembly droids were joining the pieces together. If all went well, they could have the first one ready within a few months and the Admiral had promised more locations with old Separatist factories for them to salvage. “Has Tristan reported in yet?” Ezra asked his wife.

Sabine turned from where she was looking out the viewport. “Yeah, a few hours ago. Said he’s got the generator from the Imperial complex.” One of their supply ships jumped into the system in the background with broken down bits of smaller Imperial ships in tow. “The schematics for the gate will be a little more difficult though.”

“I’m sure you of all people can figure something out.” 

Sabine smiled at his genuine praise. “R6, can you take us to Felucia?” The droid beeped its confirmation in a much more polite way than Chopper ever would, and after a few seconds, they were on their way through hyperspace to meet Hondo. “I’m gonna call home and have them send some people out to meet us as well.” After a brief conversation with Ryder, A few squadrons of TIE Defender Elites were dispatched along with ships that were purpose built for boarding. Sabine’s clan had of course volunteered to take the destroyer being the Mandalorians they were. Graysen had ‘conveniently’ come across a group of Y-Wings as well, so they would soon be joining them with their loadouts equipped with ion weaponry. 

While she put out messages to all their contacts, Ezra took one last look over the _Starhawk_ designs. The estimated crew complement to run the ship fully was around thirty-three-thousand people. Using automation methods employed by the separatists, they were able to cut that requirement down to five-thousand crew. The only humans left were those manning the guns, bridge, and other stations a droid or computer wouldn’t do well in.

* * *

Having to travel across the galaxy was a pain, especially when you also had to avoid large swaths of it in order to move unbeknownst to your Imperial overlords. But they finally found themselves gathered in orbit over the jungle planet of Felucia. “Now that everyone’s here, we can begin,” Ezra started, making sure to glare at Hondo’s holographic form for being late once again. “We’re going to steal some Star Destroyers.”

“And sell them to the highest bidder,” Hondo interrupted. “I like your plan, my boy.” 

“Not quite,” Ezra replied with a pointed glare. “We are taking them to be turned into something better.” 

“What’s in it for your old pal Hondo?” 

“I’ll let you keep some of the cargo when the ship is delivered. Now, once we find a destroyer, we’ll need to disable it with the Y-Wings. Once they’re in blackout, we latch onto the ship and take the bridge. When that’s done, we need to use emergency power to enable an executive lockdown and seal the ship off completely. With that in place, the engineers in the generator room will restore power to the ship. We take it to an offloading point and get rid of the crew with another rebel cell before proceeding on to our final destination. Is that understood?” A collection of murmurs and nods from the assembled holograms let Ezra and Sabine know the crew was ready for the mission. They jumped into hyperspace as Ezra relayed their target’s coordinates to the rest of their little attack fleet.

Ezra’s choice for his attack was Onderon. After Saw had perished on Jedha, the locals started mass uprisings. The Empire responded with a full planetary blockade. The only problem for the Imperials was the relative inexperience of some of the captains manning the destroyers. The rebels there had little in the way of starfighters, so it was a relatively safe deployment for the children of senators and other well-connected individuals. According to his inside source, there was a culture of complacency growing among the ranks of the blockade that he was eager to exploit. Him and Sabine were going to drop in close to the blockade and attack the destroyer on the right flank of the formation. From his source, Ezra was told the captain was a Coruscanti hedge fund child who would be more than delighted to give chase and prove to be easy to fool. With his reinforcements in the next system over, Ezra and Sabine exited hyperspace in their ship. The first this they saw was the bow of the lead destroyer directly in front of them. On each side was a pair of _Arquitens_ , with a destroyer at the ends of the blockade. “Attention unidentified Mandalorian vessel. This system is restricted by the order of the Emperor himself.”

“Oh, can it,” Ezra muttered. He jammed their communications and proceeded on course. Fighters were scrambled from the lead ship. The TIEs screamed toward them through the vacuum of space and began to fire as soon as they were in range. Sabine used the forward cannons to intercept the fighters, destroying the squadron after a moment or two of fighting. Ezra veered away from the command ship, and charged directly at the bridge of _Conqueror_.

* * *

Captain Voddher watched the single rebel craft break off its foolhardy attack on the admiral’s ship, but she soon realized they were charging straight for her. “Have the turbolasers intercept that craft,” she ordered the gunnery officer. She looked up from the pit and observed the ship moving closer. Green beams began to erupt from somewhere on the hull of her ship and streak toward the Mandalorian ship. The pilot of the craft, as if they had some type of clairvoyance, weaved between shots that weren’t even within their view. 

“Captain, they’re beneath our shields. Shall we deploy fighters to intercept?” 

The Voddher turned to her first officer with a sneer. He was some pathetic old man from the outer rim who rose through Imperial ranks through ‘merit’ as he claimed. “No,” she replied irritated. “Intensify our firepower.” The entire bridge shuttered, and an orange flash was visible just beneath the viewport. “Damage report!” she shouted. 

“Nothing major, Ma’am. Just the captain’s quarters and the adjacent storage rooms,” a technician answered quickly.

_“Nothing major?”_ she questioned internally. Everything she had found during this god forsaken deployment had been in there. Voddher felt her eyebrow twitch in irritation as the ship continued to evade her attacks. “I want to see that ship destroyed!” she turned and shouted at the gunnery officer. “Plot me a firing solution and obliterate that ship.” She looked back through the viewport as the pilot came in with another attack run. A torpedo was let loose from the craft and it struck somewhere lower on the bridge tower. 

The technician who was unfortunate enough to be assigned to damage monitoring looked up at her. “He got the officers club that time,” he reported solemnly. Reinforcements came from the _Arbitration_ in the form of its complement of TIE Interceptors. The pilot chose to break off his attack on the _Conqueror_ to deal with the nimbler fighters. 

The bridge crew who wasn’t scrambling to keep the ship from going up in flames was busy watching the retreating Mandalorian fighter lazily pick off their pursuing TIEs with its rear cannon. “After that ship!” she growled at the helmsman. 

Her first officer cleared his throat behind her. “With all due respect, captain. Our orders are to stay with the blockade,” he advised evenly. 

She looked at him and sneered before turning back to the helmsman who had sense begun to hesitate at his station. “Ahead full, lieutenant,” she ordered more sharp than necessary. “I will not be bested by some foolish rebels in a single ship.” Her head swiveled toward the communications operator who had been messing with his console the entire time. “Inform the admiral we are pursuing the attacking craft.”

“Communications are down, I believe we are being jammed,” he informed her. His hand slapped the side of the console as if it would magically fix it. 

Her first officer rested a hand on her shoulder. “This seems like a trap,” he warned in a hushed tone. “It might be wise to stay in formation.” Voddher shook his hand off and fixed her eyes once again on the ship. 

The TIEs were all but destroyed at this point. She felt a small twinge of satisfaction at knowing her TIEs probably would’ve met the same fate had she deployed them. The admiral had foolishly deployed his own and led them to ruin. _“Yet another example of my unappreciated genius,”_ she considered internally. 

They followed through the trails of the destroyed fighters, and luckily for them, it seemed like one of the Mandalorian’s engines had been struck and started to trail smoke. Unfortunately, they could match his speed, but not outrun it. They were stuck just outside the range of their turbolasers. The rear cannon began to send potshots at the bridge as they desperately tried to escape. “Foolish rebels,” Voddher declared. “Divert power to our front deflectors, I want to be ready for whatever tricks they may have onboard.” She looked back at her first officer. The old fool’s distraught expression from before was somewhat diminished and replaced with an inquisitive look. “I told you they would not best us,” she gloated.

“We don’t have them yet.” The comment only served to increase her fury. With the rebel craft limping away, her crew forged on and prepared to make a killing blow. “Their hyperdrive must’ve been damaged,” the first officer concluded. Voddher rolled her gray eyes at his needless statement. Obviously, they would’ve left by now if they could. 

“Let’s not let them escape then, fire a tracking torpedo.” An XX-23 S-Thread tracker was loaded and fired from one of the smaller projectile launchers on the front of the destroyer. The light blue trail it left behind abruptly ended on the aft section of their prey and instantly started to send a signal back.

* * *

After what felt like an eternity, Sabine’s feet dropped from their lax position atop the console. “The blockade just dropped off long range scanners,” she noted.

“Alright, I’ll call the others. Is their tracker still active?” Ezra asked. Sabine turned to their droid who was plugged into the wall, and the astromech gave his best impersonation of a nod despite not possessing a neck. 

“Its there.” 

Sabine sent the message ahead to the trap they had waiting in the next system and prepared herself. Ezra punched the ship into hyperspace before abruptly dropping out in the next few seconds and powering their engines down to make it look like they were dead in the water. The _Conqueror_ came in behind them a few seconds later but didn’t immediately shoot.

* * *

The rebel craft before them was floating aimlessly through space with minimal power readings. “It would appear they crippled themselves in their desperate escape,” Voddher informed her bridge crew. “Watch and learn,” she ordered her first officer. “Pull their ship in with the tractor beam and alert the admiral, we have them.” The tractor beam operator rushed to comply, but the communications technician was once again flipping switches and pressing an assortment of buttons on his console. “If you can not perform your duties, I will replace you with someone who will,” she warned. 

“Communications are still jammed,” he replied. 

Before she could reprimand him for excuses, another bridge officer spoke up. “Sensors just went out. It looks like they’re being jammed as well.” 

“How could they possibly be jammed? The enemy craft has no power…” Voddher surged forward to the viewport with her hands clasped tightly behind her back. She barely had time to register the group of Y shaped craft coming in from the side of the _Conqueror_ before they dispensed their payload of ion bombs across the hull. One hit the bridge from behind and flew triumphantly over the length of the ship. The power went out for a few seconds, leaving the crew to begin floating upwards as the rest of the craft was starting to be pulled by some unseen source of gravity. The emergency lights came on and gravity was restored. Voddher nearly fell as she dropped back to the ground. She turned to one of the guards on the bridge. “Go to the generator room and order them to get power restored as quickly as possible.” The man complied wordlessly and ran out of the room. She turned back to the viewport in time to see the Mandalorian fighter use maneuvering thrusters to attach to their hull. Several transports quickly came into view as well. After a few seconds, a woman in silver and gold Mandalorian armor used her jetpack to rocket across the viewport and stop in the center. All she did was present the destroyed tracker to them before leaving. “As soon as the power is back, I want a platoon of troopers outside this bridge,” She said to no one in particular. After the telltale signs of clicking and soft thuds that indicated the docking of ships onto their hull, there was a tense silence. “They can’t get in here. The closest airlock in at the base of the bridge, they’ll have to fight up the entire superstructure first.” Some of her people seemed slightly reassured, but she had mostly said it for herself and still didn’t feel safe in the slightest. 

The next passing minute was tense as the generator crew worked to get power back somewhere below. But Voddher heard what sounded like a platoon’s worth of bootsteps coming up the hallway. Maybe they would be safe after all. She turned to greet the lead trooper but caught the sight of her first officer getting hit in th face with the butt of a blaster carbine while Mandalorian and rebel troops stormed the bridge. Expletives were thrown around by her crew as they tried to fend off the intruders with nothing but their hands, but they were practically humiliated by the prowess of the Mandalorians. The woman who had appeared in front of their viewport moments ago walked forward with her blaster leveled at Voddher’s head. “Surrender, _Captain_ ,” she said mockingly.

She sneered at the audacity of the savages in front of her. How dare they attack the Empire?! “Fool. When power is restored my men-“ Voddher was cut off by the handle of the blaster pistol cracking against her nose. She dropped to the ground and clutched the bleeding appendage, desperately hoping it wasn’t broken.

* * *

Ezra frowned as he watched Sabine crack the captain in the face with her WESTAR. “Trigger the lockdown,” he sighed. A few of the rebels jogged over to the systems while the rest rounded up their prisoners. He walked toward where Sabine was standing over the captain with her blaster still trained on the woman’s head. Her fearful eyes flickered from Sabine to him so quickly that Ezra wasn’t sure if the woman could actually make out what was going on. He rested his hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Can I talk to you?” he asked quietly. She nodded swiftly and Ezra motioned for a trooper to come over and secure the captain. “Sabine,” he chided gently. “You’re scaring the prisoners.”

“They should be scared,” she replied just loud enough for them to hear. A collection of gasps and murmurs emanated from the crowd, but they were quickly silence by the guards. 

“When people are scared, they tend to be rash,” he warned. “I’m trying to avoid bloodshed as much as possible here.” 

“We should just vent them and the rest of this manda forsaken crew. It would make it a lot easier for us.”

“You don’t mean that.”

Sabine pulled away slightly and turned to face Ezra. He still had his helmet on, but she could tell just how concerned he was for the cowards tied up behind him. “They deserve it after what they did!” Sabine bit out. “Alderaan, Jedha city, _Mandalore, Krownest_ ,” she listed. “They would burn an entire city of innocents if someone told them to. The way I see it, spacing them would be doing the galaxy a favor.” Sabine batted Ezra’s hand away when he reached up to her, but instantly regretted it when he recoiled. 

The door whizzed shut behind them. “Executive override confirmed, we have full control of the doors,” a rebel said in the background.

“Killing them in cold blood would make us just as bad as them,” Ezra pointed out. “And I know how you feel, but not everyone who works for the Empire is evil. Just think…” he implored gently pulling her away from anyone listening in. “Wedge, Hobbie, Kallus, and Jai were all defectors.” He paused for a moment as she considered his words. “And not every rebel is good, think about Saw.”

Ezra watched as the tension dropped from her shoulders. “Mandalore deserved what it got,” the captain shouted from the group of prisoners. Evidently, Ezra didn’t move far enough away to not be overheard. 

“Please, Ezra. At least let me kill her.”

Ezra grabbed the blaster Sabine didn’t even realize she was still holding and set it to stun. “You can stun her.” That would have to do, Sabine figured. she turned her body as quickly as she could and dropped the captain to the ground as the blue ring enveloped her body. 

< Are we tossing her out the airlock, countess? > one of her kin asked. 

< No… keep her alive. >

* * *

Power was soon restored, and the ship lurched into hyperspace with the destroyer’s crew none the wiser as to what was occurring. With the codes transmitted, Ezra settled in the bridge for the duration of the trip to their rendezvous. They met with a number of transports in the Tonnis sector. There were still ruins of the destroyer him and Sabine had blown up years ago drifting aimlessly through the area, making a perfect place for the transports to hide. After the crew of prisoners was offloaded onto the prison ships, Graysen’s droids quickly took their place in the maintenance and operation of the destroyer. The rest of the trip back to the unknown regions was quiet and uneventful for the most part with nobody daring to attack a destroyer. Hondo, for his part, was awarded a briefcase of credits and sent on his way in a shuttle since Sabine refused to trust him with the location of their shipyard. However, trouble came soon after the prisoners were offloaded and a few of Sabine’s clan had been going through the databanks looking for anything they could use. 

There was a quick knock at the door to Ezra and Sabine’s quarters. < Countess, may I have a word? > one of them asked. 

Sabine motioned for Ezra to follow after a discussion where she decided he needed to be more involved with the clan’s affairs. < Yes, what is it? >

< It would be better if you came and looked, > he explained hesitantly. 

Ezra called her helmet as well as his own into his hands with the Force. The man who came to get Sabine still flinched at the sight of him using it, despite having known he was a Jedi since he first came to Krownest. Ezra quietly sighed at the man’s reaction. A Jedi coming to a Mandalorian home world with the countess’ daughter and requesting help to fight the largest military the galaxy had ever known was something that didn’t happen… well ever really. So, word among them had spread like a wildfire from the get-go, and Sabine’s clan was familiar with his identity as a Jedi. When he returned from the unknown regions and joined her in the fight on Mandalore, they had quickly agreed to disregard the fact he was a Jedi and helped him fit in whenever they were able to. Although Ezra wasn’t sure if it was out of a genuine desire to help, or if they were trying to kid themselves into believing a Jedi hadn’t courted the heir to the throne. But now he wasn’t sure if they would ever get used to the fact that their most despised and ancient enemy shared a bed with their leader. 

Ezra and Sabine followed him wordlessly to a communications station within the first officer’s quarters. A message was up on the screen for them to read. 

_‘To: First Officer Tralon Jalcor,  
Onderon Blockade Fleet: ISD Conqueror._

_Tralon, I have a need for your services once again, I will be able to reroute your ship to retrieve the required material from him. Coordinates are encoded in the following message._

_Long live Emperor Vader,_

_-Moff Gideon.’_

Sabine’s hand curled into a fist that Ezra was sure could bend beskar. < Have you received the coordinates? >

The Mandalorian nodded at her. < Their meeting was to take place not to far from our current course, we also found a frequency to contact them on when they arrive. >

< Then let’s take the opportunity to ruin something for this shabuir. >

* * *

Thrawn read through the reports his slicers had managed to procure from the Empire’s secure holonet transmissions. One of the communiques that caught his attention was the disappearance of _ISD Conqueror_ from its posting over Onderon. Gideon had assured him that the vessel’s meeting with his agents would be smooth and unnoticeable, but what was even more curious was the codes being sent from First Officer Jalcor onboard the ship. Not only was ‘he’ awaiting the shipment, whoever was pretending to be him was a few days early. Gideon had assured him that Jalcor was his most trusted operative and had been specifically placed on that ship due to his ability to get things like this done unseen. 

He knew it would be unwise to let whoever was attempting to spy on him know he was onto them, so he sent the shipment anyways, already formulating how to spin this in his favor.

* * *

A freighter of a design Ezra had never seen dropped out of hyperspace just off the bow of the _Conqueror_. It docked without transmitting clearance codes and quickly deposited its cargo within their main hangar. The rebels who had dressed up like stormtroopers to receive the shipment ripped open the crates as soon as the guests had departed. The crate was filled with… stormtrooper armor. Ezra had walked down to see the shipment for himself, but only saw the rebels examining it. However, in the sheen coming off the armor, he noticed a small, lattice-style pattern beneath the overcoating of plastoid. He took a piece for himself from the crate and looked it over carefully. He ran his fingers over the surface and noted the small ridges within it, like something new had been built into this armor. “We need to scan this as soon as we can,” Ezra declared before walking off with the armor to go show Sabine what he had found.


	34. Chapter 34

**Day 272, 3 ABY**

The droids were working much faster than Ezra and Sabine had anticipated. In the last month or so, they had stripped the required systems from the _Conqueror_ and began fitting them into the frame of the _Starhawk_. The power systems, shields, turbolasers, and communications were already fitted into their places; with the comms arrays and life support soon to follow. The construction of the stronghold was doing just as well on Lothal, with the first tower nearly half complete and the tunnel boring beneath the city was going well, they were ready to install the reactor deep underground. Turbolaser batteries had been set up in strategic positions throughout the city. But the one glaring problem they still had was the lack of any planetary shielding. For that reason, they were cruising through hyperspace toward where they knew a generator was waiting for them. 

They exited lightspeed above the once-tropical planet of Scarif. The destruction brought about by the Death Star’s shot had kicked up hundreds of square kilometers worth of dust a debris into the atmosphere. Some of it still stayed in the upper atmosphere and kept the planet locked in a nuclear winter. The subzero temperatures of the once tropical planet kept the environment from flourishing, and the salty seas frozen solid. The tidal wave induced flooding on many of the planet’s archipelagos had frozen over completely with the bodies and secrets trapped beneath them lost to time. Fortunately for their goals, the other side of the planet was bitterly cold, but had not been impacted as much by the waves. Their ship passed over the pair of destroyers that had gone down protecting the planet from rebel incursions, with enough water from the relatively deep oceans having been boiled away or thrown onto land due to the heat and kinetic energy of the superlaser.

As soon they came within visible range, Ezra instantly noticed their destination wasn’t locked within ice like many of the islands on the other side of the planet. Instead of the massive waves from the Death Star’s hit flooding it, the seismic activity prompted by the impact had sent a shockwave through the crust and violently shook the island where the shield generator was located. Sabine sighed audibly from her position in the co-pilot’s chair. 

“Something wrong, Sabine?” Ezra asked while he banked their ship and started a wide circle above the generator building to survey the area. Over the last few years, the salty air had done a number on the already destabilized facility, and now the structure was an obvious safety concern.

“I just thought I was done with cold planets,” she joked, but he could tell she was pained to say it. Ezra noted the far off look in her eyes as the ice reflected light against the polarized transparisteel of the canopy. She had been homesick recently, more so than ever before. The air conditioning in their bedroom was set to be barely above freezing, and everything she had been painting was depressing with scenes of sunsets streaming their brilliant colors through the conifers and reflecting over the snow and lake that used to be the site of clan Wren’s stronghold.

“We’ll get it back,” Ezra promised before he glanced back out at his flightpath. He sent the Gauntlet into its landing sequence and slowly guided the craft down toward one of the few clear areas near the old generator complex. They touched down softly on the sand that used to constitute what would have been an incredible place to swim and relax had it not been so cold that they would be freezing. Without the thick bodysuits left over from when they lived on Krownest, they may very well have had to abandon this idea entirely. A few other ships had followed them down to the surface and the Mandalorians quickly deployed their men to help with the deconstruction. Sabine looked up at the abandoned, but still eerie turbolaser towers that made up most of the facility’s defensive capabilities. The turrets stayed pointed at the ground and unpowered like the rest of the planet. One of the soldiers from clan Wren brought down a gonk droid filled with liquid tibanna with the hope they could power up the generator once they were inside. 

They stood outside for a few moments with the frigid winds whitling through them and nipping at any bits of exposed skin. Ezra ignited his lightsaber and thrusted it through the thick steel security doors. Even the emergency power had long been cut off, and the solar arrays on the roof were far too covered in dust to take in the little sunlight that made it through the atmosphere. He slowly brought the blade around in a wide circle with the plasma blade easily cutting through it. 

The slab fell heavily to the floor and kicked up the layers of dust inside that had been allowed to coat the entire facility. Ezra turned on his headlamp, quickly followed by everyone else doing the same, and walking into the building with their blasters drawn and aimed at the various points where an attacker could be lurking. When they finally came across a large open area toward the center, Ezra heard the gonk making its quiet warbles and grunts behind him as someone led it to the electrical generator near the side of the room. After a few seconds of holding the saber up for light, the power was restored, and the overhead lamps were activated after a few seconds of intermittent flickering. The generator for the planetary shield took up most of the room, with what little space remained being dedicated to catwalks and maintenance scaffolding. Sabine removed her helmet and tucked her hair behind her ear prior to leaning forward to inspect the readout panel. She pursed her lips at whatever she saw, prompting Ezra to step to her. “What’s wrong?” he asked as her frowned deepened somewhat. 

“Generator’s worse than we thought, but I guess crashing a few star destroyers into the shield tends to overload it like that.” The panel blurred for a second before she firmly slapped the side and brough the image back into sharp focus. “Main power coupling is shot, converters were overloaded when the shield fell… this control unit is barely working,” she complained and slapped the side rougher than before. “We’re going to need to rip this thing apart and rebuild it from the ground up,” she declared. A groan from her kin, mixed with a few exasperated confirmations. 

The dismantling and loading was an extremely slow process, especially in the current climate. When they were finally finished, Ezra sat in the cockpit and blew into his hands to try and regain feeling in his fingertips. “I wish this place was still tropical,” he joked in between breaths. 

Sabine turned to face him after setting the environmental controls in the cockpit to a higher temperature. “Could be worse,” she pointed out unhelpfully. “The oceans were boiled by the heat of the Death Star’s super laser. There were these huge storms her for a couple days… took some of the dust out of the air.” Ezra considered her words carefully; if all the dust had remained in the atmosphere, he knew it would be a hell of a lot colder and difficult to see. Ezra ignited the engines and lifted off from Scarif’s surface with the other ships following closely until they all disappeared into hyperspace.

* * *

Hera groaned as she continued onto the next report. The very first word on the page was ‘Lothal’ and she immediately knew it would be about her ‘kids.’ Of course, they were up to their usual antics of doing things in secret and somehow succeeding with their ridiculous schemes. This time, it was clear to even the alliance that they had trespassed into the Imperial restricted area around Scarif. High-definition reconnaissance holos showed them landing at some sort of generator complex. _“Must be that shield generator Ezra was talking about.”_ Hera looked up from the report and buried her head in her hands. If they could just go a single day without setting off some sort of flag with the alliance, then she wouldn’t be so stressed all the time. The communicator on her desk chimed, prompting her to remove her take her head out of her hands and see who was calling. In the corner, Jacen glanced up from where he was playing and stared at her expectantly. Hera read the frequency and quickly accepted the call. “Senator,” she greeted kindly and watched out of the corner of her eye as Jacen quickly lost interest. “What can I do for you?” 

“If you could please make your way to the briefing room, general… I would prefer we talk in person.” She’d known the senator long enough to see when she was masking her irritation, and this was apparently one of those times that her diplomatic skills just weren’t enough to hide how bothered she was. Hera smiled and nodded, but inwardly whined. Mon Mothma ended the call from her end and Hera left her office with Jacen holding tightly onto her hand. She looked down at her son and smiled as he distractedly played with whatever toy he managed to get a hold of. After dropping him off with the onsite childcare people, she went into the briefing room to see what had Mothma so upset, but Hera was sure she already knew why. The way she was handed a datapad as soon as she got to the table confirmed her suspicions, especially when Sabine and Ezra were the subject. She flicked her eyes up and saw Admiral Ackbar and the senator looking at her; while Graysen, who was usually present at these meetings, was nowhere to be seen. “I’m sure you’re also wondering why their ‘break’ constitutes stealing that many Imperial ships…” Mothma said accusingly as Hera read through the datapad and pretended like she hadn’t already seen it. “This isn’t quite what I had in mind when I approved their request.”

“You have about as much control over their actions as I do,” Hera replied. Her arms folded over her chest involuntarily, but she stood her ground. 

“Somehow, I doubt that’s true.” Mothma leaned down and brought up other figures and images. “Do you happen to know what they’re doing with these ships?” One of the pictures was of a massive pile of scrap being melted down on one of Lothal’s barren moons, while the other was an intercepted Imperial report with hard numbers on what they’d taken so far. 

“I must admit, I am impressed with what they have managed to do,” Ackbar pointed out. “Five _Imperial_ -class, forty _Gozanti_ transports, a few dozen class four container transports, ten _Arquitens_ cruisers…” he trailed off as he used his oddly shaped hand to scroll down the list further. Eventually, they reached the production numbers of ships they were building themselves. Mandalorian fighters like the ones Hera had faced over Concord Dawn, Kom’rk transports like Ezra obtained after Maul died, TIE Defender Elites; there was even an estimation of several types of fighters being produced from a massive black budget project that had an immense resource drain. It just had to be for the _Starhawk_ , but Hera wasn’t going to say anything.

“Well, general?” 

“Honestly, I have nothing to do with their actions. They’re both adults, Sabine is a _Countess_ now, and If you think either one of them would listen to me telling them to stop doing whatever they obviously think is right, then you couldn’t be further out of touch.” Hera knew she had been a little too harsh with the patient woman as soon as the words had left her mouth but stood by the sentiment in its entirety.

“The last thing I want is another hostile faction,” Mothma sighed. “Mandalorians tend to be contentions people.”

Ignoring the comment, Hera forged on. “Those two won’t become a problem for you… they want the Empire gone as much as you do, if not more; and neither one of them wants any sort of power past what they already have.” 

“Then they’ll be joining our new republic?” the senator asked like she already knew what Hera would say. 

“I’m… not sure what they’ll do,” Hera admitted regretfully.

* * *

The relaxed mood of their return flight was reduced to another typical day in Sabine and Ezra’s lives as their ship, along with the others were ripped from hyperspace violently and sent spiraling out of control just beyond the edge of the hyperspace lane. Before either one of them had a chance to react, they were being pulled further away from the lane into a tractor beam. As their ship came around, they both saw the others being pulled into the _Interdictor_ -class’ hangar as well. They were set down gently inside with their ship initiating landing protocols and decompressing to match the Imperial ship’s pressure. Troopers rushed from all entrances with their blasters raised and moved to surround the ramps. 

“Surrender now, Mandalorians,” A familiar voice said through an intercom system. “Exit your craft with your hands raised above your heads and your helmets off. No blasters.” No moves were made from Sabine, Ezra, or any of the others. He waited a few more moments to see if they would listen. “One thing you may have learned about me is that I will do whatever is necessary to carry out the Emperor’s will.” The man walked out through a blast door with the communicator still in his hand.

Ezra remembered the man vaguely from his interrogation above Mandalore. It was the ISB agent who had questioned him on the location of Bo-Katan’s base. Ezra noticed that Gideon still had the rectangular hilt of the Darksaber on his belt. Stormtroopers with rocket launchers followed him in and took up positions aiming at their engines. Not wanting his ship to be destroyed, Ezra turned to Sabine. “I’m going to distract Gideon. We should steal this ship,” he told her bluntly. She arched an eyebrow and folded her arms over her armored chest. “Look, just do it,” Ezra said her before she could protest. Sabine chuckled a nervous laugh but still went ahead and sent a signal to the other ships. Ezra walked out with his helmet off, despite Sabine’s protests that he wear it. Ezra opened the ramp with the hiss of the atmospheric controls somewhat obscuring his entry. 

Ezra saw the look of curiosity on Gideon’s face as he descended with his arms and lightsaber above his head. The agent’s face shifted to something cocky as he recognized the beskar clad person before him. “I never got the chance to kill a Jedi.”

“Well you still don’t have a chance, agent,” Ezra replied before igniting the cyan blade of his lightsaber. 

“Moff,” Gideon corrected swiftly. The black blade of the Darksaber came to life as he pulled it from his belt and brought it up to a fighting position. His opening strike was sloppy and landed heavily on Ezra’s blade. Ezra quickly angled his blade up and over Gideon’s to keep the man in a lock. The stormtroopers were slow to react, but now had their blasters trained on Ezra with the exception of the troopers carrying the rocket launchers, who were still waiting for the command to fire. They would never get the chance because as soon as Ezra started to press his advantage on Gideon, the rear cannons of the Kom’rks lit up the hangar with deadly fusillades of plasma. The yellow bolts hit their targets with shots never meant to be used on infantry and tore through the plastoid armor and flesh like it wasn’t even there. Hot blobs of metal rained over those remaining shortly before the guns were turned on them and the Mandalorians exited the ships with their own blasters at the ready.

Ezra broke the lock with Sabine’s clan now causing havoc among the Imperial ranks all around them. Ezra swung a wide strike around and swept at Gideon’s stomach. The Moff lurched back and narrowly avoided the strike. A red blaster bolt whizzed by Ezra’s head as he moved toward Gideon, but he sensed the shooter get gunned down by Sabine. Gideon jabbed at Ezra, who twisted his body to avoid being impaled. Ezra batted the Darksaber back and slashed up at Gideon’s bicep. The strike connected at the very tip of Ezra’s blade, filling the immediate area with the stench of melted flesh. The older man recoiled in pain but recovered quickly and slashed at Ezra’s neck. Ezra ducked the strike and swung at Gideon’s other arm. His strike was easily blocked by Gideon, but Ezra sent a follow-up at the man’s knee. Gideon was forced to give ground as he struggled against Ezra’s more aggressive style of fighting that he had been practicing with. They soon found themselves moving beyond the hangar and into the vast hallways of the Interdictor. A swipe aimed at Gideon’s knee was met with the blade of the Darksaber and pushed back. Ezra angled himself to the side and pointed his lightsaber at the ground, allowing Gideon to use his own strength and slide the Darksaber off Ezra’s blade. The older man stumbled, which Ezra took advantage of and kicked him in his unarmored side. The common ISB uniform wasn’t designed for protection, it seemed to be designed for maneuverability over everything else. 

Gideon took the hit well and went with the momentum it offered before spinning himself around and raising the saber defensively. Ezra was on him almost instantly with a heavy downward strike. The Moff faltered slightly under the Force-assisted power of it and his blade dropped toward his face slightly with each passing second. Despite Ezra’s best efforts, Gideon was able to slip away and press a few keys on his wrist computer. A smile slowly grew across the older man’s face and he started to slowly back down the hallway further into the ship. Ezra followed him, knowing that Gideon was nowhere near a match for his own lightsaber ability and thinking this would be an easy conclusion to their conflict. Suddenly, Gideon stuck the Darksaber into a pipe running along the wall just in front of Ezra. Steam spewed from it and burned the skin of Ezra’s face. One of his hands went up to cover his eyes while the other sent Gideon flying down the hallway. Gideon landed with a grunt but chuckled for some reason. Ezra could vaguely hear a clanking sound coming from behind him, however his mind was too fogged with pain for him to do anything to react to it. 

A large metal hand gripped Ezra by the back of his neck and effortlessly threw him against the opposite wall. Ezra rolled out from under the foot that came crashing down upon the position he had occupied a fraction of a second ago and raised his lightsaber defensively while still trying to rub some vision back into his burned eyes. The droid, which he could tell had a person operating it from the inside, reached for him clumsily. Ezra slashed the arm off and thrusted his blade through its chest. The victory was short lived and soon blaster bolts sounded from another clanking set of footsteps just down the hall, and Ezra was made to reach out with the Force to effectively deflect the bolts back into the shooter. They bounced harmlessly off the armor, but Ezra thought quickly and shoved it into the wall with the Force hard enough to damage some of the ship’s infrastructure. He felt Gideon’s signature running away behind him. He turned with just enough sight in his eyes to activate the other side of his lightsaber and hurl it at Gideon. Ezra ducked the blaster bolts the man sent at him and heard the lightsaber slice through the pistol and across his chest, but Ezra already knew it wouldn’t be lethal. He recalled his blade with the Force and surged down the hallway to the temporarily incapacitated Gideon. 

A squadron of Death Troopers exited an adjoining corridor and one scooped up Gideon while the others pinned Ezra down with accurate blaster fire uncharacteristic of their white armored counterparts. He took cover behind an outcropping in the hallway as the bolts from their carbines continued to slam the wall. He stretched out with the Force, feeling over the men’s minds and finding the commander. _“You must abandon ship,”_ he ordered firmly in the man’s mind. He felt resistance to his order, but pushed through harder, eventually breaking the man’s shields down. He heard the garbled speech of the Death Troopers and the blaster fire slowly faded out as they moved toward the escape pods. An alarm blared over the ship’s intercom with the captain ushering all the crew to the escape pods after the Death Troopers relayed the order.

Ezra moved down the halls to the bridge unimpeded, only crossing paths with the occasional stormtrooper who seemed more interested in escaping than fighting. He unintentionally met Sabine and the others just outside the bridge’s entrance. They breached the blast doors and found it devoid of any crew. “Cancel any of their failsafe programs and take control of the navigation,” Sabine ordered. They took quickly to her request as soon as it left her mouth and began going around the various consoles and disabling whatever countdowns or sequences they could find. 

“They’ve wiped the navi computer,” one of them said aloud. 

“Check the fuel logs, they keep similar information on there,” Ezra told him quickly. It was an old trick Ahsoka’s master had taught to her, before she passed it on to Ezra. “Look for where they refueled and the level of fuel in the tanks, from there we can figure out where they’ve been.” Sabine looked at him with a proud smile while the others considered his words and ultimately accepted them. Ezra noticed it recently as much as Sabine was; her clan had started to listen to Ezra more often, accepting his advice and requests as long as they found them to be reasonable.

Ezra followed one of them down to the fuel computer in the engine room and scrolled through the logs with him. There was a refueling logged with the station’s coordinates before the ship travelled to a rendezvous. From the fuel burned on the way out and back, Ezra was able to quickly determine a radius on where they could have gone from the refueling. Most of the worlds within range were unremarkable and had been cleared by the Rebellion as planets that held little to no interest for the rebels or Empire. But the strange part, to him at least, was that it put him nearly perfectly at the edge of the unknown regions. There was only one reason Ezra could think of that would explain them travelling all the way out there, and he didn’t like it. If they were contacting who he thought they were, then that would be bad news for everyone involved. _“Maybe I should’ve killed him when I had the chance.”_

He was torn from his thoughts when he felt a slight nudging. “Got something you want to share?” the soldier who came with him inquired. 

“My guess is that they were at the unknown regions recently. Probably a meetup of some sort, and then they came out here to run the interdiction checkpoint,” Ezra answered. He wondered if it had anything to do with the cargo they had picked up before. The material, which the scanner had identified as a cortosis weave, could absorb the energy of lightsaber strikes; and in a high enough concentration, it could even short out the power to the blade upon impact. That left him to wonder what the purpose behind the project was. If it was to be used against him or other Jedi, then the sender would have gone through more official channels rather than agreeing to meet through a proxy. There had to be another explanation, one that he wasn’t seeing. “We should let Sabine know what we found,” Ezra declared. 

“I’ll stay here and keep looking through if you want to go tell her yourself,” the man offered. Ezra nodded and turned to leave the room. Ezra knew Thrawn was obsessed with the smallest details within any operation, and he always had a vague sense that Thrawn was always in the war for goals that the Empire would undoubtedly not share. If he really was the one supplying cortosis weave armor, then who was he hoping to use it against? The rebellion or the something else?


End file.
